Pokemon XSD: Windstorm of Cyclones
by Patinator
Summary: A year after Pokemon XD takes place, a new threat worse than XD001 is in Orre! Can two Hoenns and a new trainer take down Cipher? Bits of Hoennshipping. Self insertion.
1. Chapter 1

Announcer: If you liked "Pokemon Platinum Version", the most action-packed fic by Patinator Incorporated, you'll love-- CRASH

PM: Move it, chubby. This is MY job. Ahem. You'll love this! Pokemon XSD: Windstorm of Cyclones is my sequel to the famed Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness! WARNING: Self-insertion. Wait, that's a good thing. OTHER WARNING: This starts out depressing, but don't all Real World fics?

Note: XSD stands for e**X**tra **S**hadowy **D**imension, like Pokemon **XD** stands for e**X**tra **D**imension.

PROLOGUE:

Da name is Pat McClintock, people!

I sat on the loveseat downstairs in my simple house. I liked it that way. Just me, me, and me. I had a lot on my mind, as usual. The only thing I ever did was think. My parents had gone away for a month, trusting me, since I had access to a huge sledgehammer. I ran my hand through my dark red-brown hair. I wore a navy blue t-shirt, light blue pants, white socks, and some blue, white, and dark blue sneakers.

I was thinking why I felt my life was missing something… I mean, my parents are loving, I have a lot of good stuff, a few good friends, and quite a bit of money. Nevertheless, as I already stated, I felt my life was missing something. Suddenly I figured out that problem!

_I wanted a girlfriend._

It sounded ridiculous. Me? The person that I would nominate an evil prodigy? LOVE-HUNGRY? I could care less about most people! But… that's the only thing my insufficient cranium could come up with! Alas, even I couldn't solve this problematic conundrum! Since I was home schooled, I never got out lest I was on an errand. Sighing, I decided to take out my sapphire Gamecube Wave bird (Do those things only come in gray or what?) and took out my frustration on Pokemon XD. On the last day of January, I had kicked Greevil's round head, and on St. Patrick's Day, laddies and lassies, I purified the final Shadow Pokemon: Level 38 Lickitung. Since I was sinister, I kinda liked having Lugia a Shadow! But it was the first one I purified after I beat Greevil. The character, Michael, was going through the Cipher Lab to check it out to see what was in there after I beat Cipher (In case the Strategy Guide from Nintendo Power was off.). I must admit, when I first infiltrated, it was somewhat spooky, but I'm no chicken! Or rooster! Or cow, or pig, or pigeon. But as soon as I got to the desk where I fought Naps, the screen went all swirly and purple!

"What the heck!" I cried.

A strange force conked me out. The last I remember of that moment was the sound of my TV, Gamecube, and Wave bird turning off.

PM: Well, here's the first Chapter of my second fic. Hey, uh, Note: I named my character PAT in reality, after me.


	2. Chapter 2

PM: Ooh, this'll be good! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I'M EVIL! But you knew that.

CHAPTER 1:

New-World Experience

Falling… that's what I saw next. I saw that a desert was going to be the last thing I'd touch. I blacked out a few minutes later, but before that, I was scooped up from my fall by a dragonish creature…

- - - - -

My eyes opened slowly, allowing my green eyes to see I was in some sort of laboratory. The floor and walls were gray, while the ceiling was white. I got up from the red couch I was on and began walking around the room. It was higher tech than my home, but so familiar… suddenly the door began making a noise, and opened. A voice that obviously came from a scientist said coolly:

"So you're awake…" A chuckle came from the person's throat.

I looked in the voice's direction to see a man with wild, silver-dark gray hair in a style like Raikou's tail, a thunderbolt-like style, at which I sweat dropped.

"**_EIN!_**" I cried when I recognized him.

"You know my name, eh?" Ein said.

"Uh, yeah… chief scientist and high level Admin of Team Cipher of previous era, and master…" I sweat dropped. "Hair stylist…"

"How amusing." Ein growled sternly.

"Get to the point, Ein. Why am I here? WHERE am I?"

"I was the one who brought you here. I was on my trip to Mount Battle to look for some new Peons and, the real low-rankers, Grunts. My Flygon caught you. As for your purpose… I don't know. Lovrina was the one who ordered your care."

"L-Lovrina? As in that crazy teenybopper Admin? Okay…"

"Yes, it is strange Greevil-- er, _Grand Master_ Greevil chose her for, as the Administrators call it, the 'Second Cipher Generation' Admin lineup." Ein mumbled, shaking his head.

"But, of course, she's handy as a scientist."

"So, Cipher's gonna rise again, eh?" I asked.

"Yes. Why did you ask that as if it wouldn't?"

"The defeating/Snagging of the XD 001, codename of Shadow Lugia."

"**_What! You know of Shadow Lugia's capture! __HOW_**?" Ein cried out, echoing in the halls.

"Let's just say I have my sources." I replied calmly.

Ein picked me up, holding me against the wall. "**TELL ME!**" he snarled.

"Even an intellect of your magnitude wouldn't understand. Now **let me go!**"

He did. Suddenly, a radio static noise could be heard. Ein took out a mobile phone system, from which a crackly voice said:

"Ein, stop that! You _so_ need to come manage the mechanics! I'll have a talk with our captive."

I recognized the voice as a female's as Ein closed off the connection, growling.

"I may be able to converse with you later, but Lovrina is going to see you now. Ugh…"

He walked off. I figured it'd be a few minutes before Lovrina came in. I saw a Poke Ball on a table by the aforementioned couch. I touched the circular object, suddenly realizing it:

_**I WAS IN THE POKEMON WORLD!**_

Back in the "real world", I had always thought there were different dimensions after watch a NOVA special on string theory! I WAS RIGHT! As usual.

Then, interrupting my thoughts, a girly voice called to me:

"What do you, like, think you're doing!"

I shrieked, not hearing the person come in. I accidentally knocked the Poke Ball off the desk, and when it crashed to the floor, a brown, shellfish-like creature came out.

"Ka-bu-to!" it screeched.

"Wow, a Pokemon…!" I mumbled.

"Yeah, wow. What's the problem, kiddo?" the person who walked in asked.

"Um… I've never seen one before. Anyway--**_GYAH! LOVRINA?_**" I screamed, seeing the youngest-ever Admin of Cipher.

"That's me! Ein so told you I was the one that ordered your care, right?"

"Yes'm."

"Why I oughtta! Ohh! Hmph!" Lovrina sniffed.

"Anyway, the reason I did that is because you're _so_ cute! Tell me your name, please."

"I'M NOT CUTE. DA' NAME IS PAT McCLINTOCK." I stated monotonously.

"That's so a cute name, like you!" A giggle escaped her before she motioned for me to sit on the couch. She sat down next to me.

"Where are we, Lovrina? Ein didn't tell."

"Why, the Cipher Lab of course! I suggested to Grand Master Greevil that we should have you take Eldes' place, the only Cipher member of the second era that didn't come back."

"WHY ME! I'm more incompetent and imbecilic than you! I can't believe I said that, though."

"YOU LITTLE BUBBLEBRAIN! I AM NOT! I'M… I'M…"

"A big, fat, blop head?"

"Yeah, a big, fat blop head! …I mean…" Lovrina put her hands behind her head and blushed.

"Ha ha! Gotcha, _Haterina_." I taunted.

"W-Where d-did you here that n-n-nam-m-me!" Lovrina stuttered.

"No where; it suits you."

An anger cross appeared on Lovrina's pink hair, and she pulled out a cartoony white fan, whopping me over the head.

"_Whatever._ Anyway, what Pokemon do you have with you?"

"YOU FOOL!" I shouted, getting up from the hard steel floor. "I all ready told you I haven't even **_seen_** any! How do you expect I **had** any, you imbecile?"

"You're so mean! Have you, like, no manners? Hmph!" Lovrina sniffed, stomping her blue and white clad foot, nearly _flooring_ (Literally.) my hand.

"Well, no, actually. Besides, you're Lovrina, Admin of Cipher."

'Is that it? Heh heh heh heh heh heh!' Lovrina snickered in her mind.

"So, Pat, are you tired at all?"

"Well, uh, yeah. It's 5 a.m.!"

"Guess you'll have to sleep with me, cutie." Lovrina flirted.

"Humina-hubbiti-yummina-lolliba… Wha-hah?"

"You heard me." Lovrina winked at me.

"Uh-huh, and what if I refuse?"

"Well, I'll let you sleep outside in the desert."

"Um… Oh, fine. Better than anywhere else anyway." I muttered, clenching my fist.

"Good!"

-The Next Day-

At about 1:40 PM I came out of that dreaded lab, with an addition to my clothing that snakish... Yet cute... (NOT!) Lovrina gave to me: black fingered gloves with an emerald green band around the wrist, and a full green **R** between the wrist and fingers. A red Poke Ball was under the **R**. A gray **C** was on the wrist area. Anyway, I left for the Pokemon HQ lab, where I would get my first Pokemon...

On the way, I went up to the Mt. Battle lobby, and got a seat in the Colosseum to watch some dude named Michael battle Mt. Battle Master Battlus. But then I saw two people who looked familiar from the Anime/ Games from my "real home"... A brunette, who wore a red shirt, a white skirt with black biker shorts under it, black socks, a red Poke Ball design bandana, white, black-fingered gloves, and running shoes. She also had a yellow side pouch on her hips. Next to her was a boy with matted white hair, a black headband with a red Poke Ball on it, a black and red shirt, black and yellow pants, blue and yellow fingerless gloves, and his own Running Shoes. I knew who they were before, but I didn't know them at the time...

Later, in the Colosseum

I took my seat in the Colosseum, a front-row seat, and the battle was soon to begin. The challenger, Michael, had red-brown spiky hair, white goggles around his neck, a gold-yellow shirt that split at the bottom, blue jeans, a gray belt, black shoes, a blue headband, a strange device behind his ear, and a silver arm-like contraption on his left arm with a blue Poke Ball on the shoulder... Suddenly, I knew who it was! Michael _was the character in Pokemon XD! **Cool!**_

'Maybe he'll use Shadow Lugia, codename XD001! Ha ha ha!' I cackled inside my cranium.

I sweet voice broke my thoughts. "Hi!" It came from someone next to me. I looked to my right to stare into a pair of sparkling blue eyes, belonging to the girl I saw in the lobby.

"Um... Hi." I replied, a slight pink blush creeping up my cheeks. I then saw the boy she was with earlier beside her.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm May, from the Hoenn Region. Who are you?"

"I'm Pat... Er... Bad way to say that. Ahem... Da' name is Pat, May! I just came to Orre myself. Who's the guy behind ya?"

"Oh, that's Brendan Birch. My boyfriend, actually." May grinned.

"I see..." 'Brendan sure is lucky to have a girl as hot as May...' I thought, flinching a bit since I hardly ever used "hot" in the above context.

"So, May, who d'ya think will win this battle?"

"Well... I kinda think Battlus, 'cuz he probably has some super-strong Pokemon... You?"

"Well... Ha ha ha... I strongly deem Michael capable of pulling off a victory... He has a secret weapon Pokemon... Ha ha ha ha..."

May must've been unnerved by my cackles, but her curiosity soon came over her.

"What is it?"

"Oh, a little something I can only tell you the codename of..."

"Well, WHAT'S THE CODENAME!" she yelled.

"...Bah ha ha ha..."

"Huh...?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"..."

"GAH HA HA HA! Its name, little May, is..."

"Oh, the suspense..." May moaned.

"XD... XD001."

"Well, that helps! Humph!"

I directed my eyes toward the battlefield. Michael and Battlus had different assortments of Poke Balls in their hands. I took note of Battlus' clothing: a tan shirt that was very tight, which opened up to reveal his enormously muscular chest, blue-wristed, white gloves with a blue Poke Ball on it, a blue belt, red sweatpants, and blue shoes.

"Let's dance, Battlus!" Michael shouted across the large battlefield, with a big, red 100 on it.

"Ooh, what kinda music will they play?" I asked May, who fell Anime-style.

"That means, here, 'Let's battle.'. Not dancing like ballet or jigs or things!" she replied, a sweat drop on her forehead. Three yellow question marks appeared over my head.

"That makes no sense at all."

Battle Arena (Not the Frontier facility, if you can't tell.)

"Okay, time to battle! Let's go, Manectric and Crobat!" Michael threw out a Poke Ball, a red-top Ball with a white bottom, and an Ultra/ Hyper Ball, a yellow top Ball with a black "H" on the top, standing for "Hyper".

A Manectric, a blue Pokemon with a lighting-bolt shaped tail and yellow fur on the hind hips, neck, head, and feet on the forelegs, materialized in a flash of yellow light, barking:

"Mane-ec-tric!"

Out of white light materialized Crobat, a purple bat with four wings, the actual wing parts green, three claws on both the upper wings, claws on the bottom of the body, a triangular, angry mouth, and mad, yellow eyes.

"Cro-bat!" it shouted, flapping its wings excessively.

"Nice Pokemon, but not like mine! I choose you, Slaking and Dusclops!" Battlus threw two Poke Balls, white light exploding from them.

"Slak..." yawned Slaking, a Normal Elemental, ape-like Pokemon with a big pink nose, white neck fur, a tan face and chest, a brown back, legs, and arms, and tan feet.

"Dus-clops!" cried Dusclops, a Ghost-Type with a Cyclops-like body with light brown hands and a single hair on his dark body, a red eye, and side protrusions.

The Stands; Me and May

"Well... This _will _be interesting..." I said in a sinister tone, clearly scaring May.

"YOU'RE SCARING ME PAT!" she screamed. See?

"Oh, I feel so sad..." I sighed sarcastically, a sweat drop on my head.

...WHAM!

I got clobbered in the head by Brendan, who entered the "fray" of some sort. I saw a red anger cross on his sweatband.

"Easy, Brenda." I said in an injured voice.

"BRENDAN!" He picked me up by my collar.

"Okay, okay... No need for violence..." I smiled innocently.

"Don't hurt my May's feelings!" Brenda... er, Brendan, growled.

"Let him go!" May ordered, making Brendan drop me to the floor.

"Ow..."

"Sorry, Guy." Brendan apologized, helping me up.

"The name is Pat."

"Uh... Okay..."

We all began talking; talking about what all they did in Hoenn and, in May's case, Kanto. I learned about their Pokemon, Brendan being the major Pokemon collector. He told me that his strongest Pokemon were... Snore... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Uh, Pat?" May asked me minutes later, and I felt her prying my eyes open.

"Zzzz... Snort, honk... Wha, what?" I asked drowsily.

"I think you fell asleep..." she sighed.

"I knew that."

I took a look at the battlefield, and I saw that Michael only had a single Pokemon choice left, while Battlus was already on his last: A Salamence, a Dragon/ Flying dual with big, red wings, head crests, and throat, a white belly and lower mouth, black eyes, and a blue body. Three spikes poked out from its cheeks.

"What now...?" Michael pondered in frustration, and I heard him say it in an Irish accent.

"You don't know!" I called to him loudly.

"What, laddie!" he cried, surprised at my outburst.

"You have a Pokemon _anyone _would want... In a... _Master Ball_, perhaps?" I plastered a slight smirk on my face and winked at him.

"How do you know about that, lad?" he asked.

"If you meet me after the battle... I'll tell you. Now... Use it!"

"What did you suggest to him, Pat?" May and Brendan asked me.

"Oh, just a little thing deserving a Master Ball called... **_XD001_**." I cackled a little bit.

"Ooh, cool! I can see it!" May cried happily.

"Brendan... You'll like this as well." I closed my eyes, crossed my arms, and widened my smirk.

"Why?"

"Don't you wanna see a **_Legendary Pokemon?_** Gack ack ack ack... GACK-ACK-ACK ACK-ACK-ACK!"

Michael pulled out a Master Ball, a Poke Ball with a purple top, two pink bumps on the top, and a white **M** between the protuberances.

"I never wanted to use this after Greevil... But I have no choice..." Michael said in a half growl to Battlus.

"Huh?" he wondered.

"But... Grr..." Michael threw the Master Ball, roaring:

"COME FORTH! **XD001!** AKA **_SHADOW LUGIA!_**"

"Shadow... Humina hubbity humina humina humina humina..." Brendan repeated, too shocked to say anything else.

"Whoa..." May stared.

"He got the hint... Ha ha ha!" I cackled.

Michael threw his Master Ball, and a dark purple light came out. There stood the greatest creature I knew of: A Shadow/ Psychic/ Flying Element with spiky, dark purple feet, two dark purple, three-fingered and thumbed wings, white, knife-like appendages over the eyes, only showing sinister red ones, a red, snake-like tongue, and finally, a pointed spike coming from the back of the head...

"What creature is that...?" May asked in awe.

"You idiot! It's **_the _**Shadow Lugia! Wait 'till you see it in action!"

"Now, mighty XD001, ATTACK! SHADOW BLAST!"

XD001 inhaled, and a black, shadowy ball formed in its sinister mouth. It then shot out in the form of a dark blast. The attack was **_very _**effective on Battlus' Salamence, which actually **_KO'd it!_**

"Whoa..." May and Brendan gasped. I only chuckled...

0o0o0o0o0o0

Michael and I had met up in the entrance to the Mt. Battle's lobby. May and Brendan came along as well. I told Michael all I _could _without any "real world" info spilling out about XD001.

"So, Michael. To my... _unknown _understandings, XD001 is not your sole Legendary, no?" I asked.

"Correct, laddie. I also have the cr-r-reatures Lugia calms whenever there is a disturbance between Fire, Ice, or Lightning..." Michael replied, repeating a part from a legend in the Orange Islands or something.

"AKA..." I said.

"WHAT!" May and Brendan yelled at me, wanting to know.

"Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos, respectively."

"YAAAH! HE'S GONNA KILL US!" Brendan screamed, causing May to sweat drop.

"Ugh..." I groaned, and then started walking away.

"Where ya goin', Pat?" Michael called to me.

"...I'm going to go to the Pokemon HQ Lab to get my first Pokemon."

"Hey, we wanna come!" May and Brendan called when Michael came with me.

"Well, you worms, I suggest hurrying up." I spat sinisterly.

They caught up with Michael and I, and we advanced toward the Pokemon HQ Lab on spare motor-scooters Michael had.

0o0o0o0o0o0

We all arrived at the Lab in about ten minutes. It was a white building, with big front windows making up the whole wall. The part in question was a half-circle shape, which connected to a rectangle. A Poke Ball hologram floated over the half-circle.

"So this is what it's like..." I said softly to myself.

We four walked into the laboratory, Michael half-running. It _was _his home, anyway.

"I'm home, Prof. Krane!" he called to someone in a white lab coat, tan pants, brown shoes, and a green shirt. He had glasses on and brown hair.

"Michael! How did it go at Mt. Battle?" Krane asked.

"I won... All thanks to this lad." Michael pointed to me.

"Well, Michael and I owe you our thanks, uh..."

"Pat." My eyes turned into happy Anime style.

"Ah, Pat. What a nice name. Uh, so, Pat, how did you help Michael? Did you both make it to Battlus at the same time and battle in a double battle?"

"Uh, no. I don't even have a Pokemon."

"He suggested one for me to use... Shadow Lugia."

"WHAT! How does he know of Shadow Lugia!"

"Let's say I have my sources." I said quietly.

"Okay... So, who are the two behind you?" Krane asked, pointing at Brendan and May.

"They are Brendan and May. They're both from Hoenn. Brendan was a Champion and May was a Grand Festival competitor."

"Wow! So, uh, what are they doing here?"

I stepped in. "_I _am here for a Pokemon, obviously, if this is the correct location. May and Brenda might be as well." Brendan clobbered me over the head.

"IT'S BRENDAN!" he roared, causing Michael, May, and Krane to sweat drop.

"Uh... Well, I have a few Pokemon you can have. Come with me." Krane said, walking away to a room. The door just mechanically pushed aside. On a white table were three Poke Balls.

"Choose. There's a Chikorita, Eevee, and a special Totodile Battlus gave us."

"I'll take Eevee!" May cried happily, taking the middle Poke Ball.

"Hmm... I claim Totodile." I said, grabbing the Poke Ball on the far right.

"Aw, man... Then I get Chikorita." Brendan mumbled.

'My first Pokemon...' I thought, staring at my red and white spherical Ball.

"Michael..." I whispered.

"What?"

"Can I see your Snag Machine?"

"What? Um... Sure." Michael brought me to a manufacturing room, where a silver machine with a black glove under a silver half-sphere, a blue Poke Ball design on it, and a Poke Ball adorned silver shoulder piece. A cord connected the shoulder piece and hand piece.

"Wow... Hey, what's that?" I asked, spying a completely black Snag Machine, only with red Poke Ball patterns on the shoulder and hand.

"A prototype. My old one doesn't work, so that one was developed. Wanna try it on?" Michael said, and I nodded. I placed the device on my right arm.

"Wow, cool!" came a cry. Michael and I saw May and Brendan in the doorway.

"You like, laddie and lassie?" Michael asked.

"Yeah!"

Suddenly, a crashing noise was heard.

"HELP! STOP! THIEF!" It sounded like Prof. Krane!

We all rushed to the scene and saw Krane trying to get a mechanical device from some thugs in white clothing, one male one female. They both had yellow pointed hats.

"What d' you think you're doing?" I shouted, getting their attention. I further saw they had black visors.

"We're stealing this, what else?" the male yelled.

"You're not gettin' it without a battle!" May and Brendan said, bringing out their Poke Balls.

"Fine. Nexir, c'mon. Gandog, grab the Professor."

"You got it, Naps." Nexir replied, letting us learn his name.

The female walked beside the man, a Poke Ball in their hands. A big, muscular man in white and black attire came out of a red hover car, and grabbed the Professor. He had no hat.

"Pat... Psst..." Michael whispered to me. He gave me five Poke Balls to catch Pokemon with.

"Uh, we got bigger things to worry about, Michael." He just winked at me...

"Go, Eevee!" May shouted, tossing her Poke Ball. A tan feline came out in a flash of white light. It had white, puffy fur on is forehead, and a big, bushy tail.

"Vee!" he shouted.

"You, too, Chikorita!" Brendan threw a Poke Ball, and out of a flash of white light appeared his Chikorita, a green Pokemon that walked on all fours. It had dark green seeds on its neck in a ring, and a sharp leaf on its head.

"Chika!"

"Okay, Omanyte! Go!" "Nexir" called out. A blue Pokemon in a white shell appeared.

"You, too Kabuto!" the other guy shouted. A Kabuto appeared. It was the same as the one back in the Cipher Lab.

"Kabu!"

"Oman!"

Suddenly, an antennae-like thing popped up from the shoulder piece on my prototype Snag Machine! A green screen slid over my eyes, a circle flashing over Kabuto, reading and saying in a female voice:

"Kabuto. Level 5. Water/ Rock Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON."

It then did the same about Omanyte, only it said for the moves:

"Shadow Blitz and Shadow Shed."

"Hey... A Shadow Pokemon!" I cried softly as the antennae and screen retreated.

"MAY! BRENDAN!" I called.

"What?" they asked.

"Don't knock those Pokemon out, whatever you do! Weaken 'em!"

"What? Should we, Brendan?" May asked Brendan.

"I guess..."

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

May's Eevee and Brendan's Chikorita vs. Naps' Kabuto and Nexir's Omanyte

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Eevee, Bite on Kabuto!"

Eevee opened its mouth, and its teeth began glowing in a sinister purple aura. He dashed toward its shellfish-like foe, and chomped down. The attack did a so-so amount of damage.

"Chikorita, use Body Slam!"

Chikorita jumped up, and slammed down on Omanyte.

"Omanyte..." began Nexir.

"Kabuto..." said Naps.

"Double Shadow Blitz!"

Both Omanyte and Kabuto were surrounded in a black-purple aura as they tackled Chikorita and Eevee. The attack, being of a strange attribute, were super effective, causing May and Brendan's Pokemon to nearly faint!

"Whoa! What was that!" May cried.

"Shadow Blitz is of the Shadow Type, May. It's super effective against all types but Shadow Pokemon themselves."

"So our Pokemon can use it, too?" Brendan asked.

"No. Only Shadow Pokemon can."

"Phooey..."

"Brendan, pay attention!" May said.

"Uh, right! Chikorita, use Tackle!"

"Eevee, you too!"

Chikorita and Eevee both knocked into Omanyte and Kabuto, making them weak enough...

"Okay, guys. That's all." I said.

"WHAT!"

I slipped a Poke Ball into my hand, and it shone in a red aura.

"Snag Ball, go!" I yelled, tossing it at Omanyte. It sucked it up in red light, and fell to the ground where it twitched three times. When it was done, I walked over to it and grabbed it.

"My first capture/ Snag..." I murmured.

"Pat, you thief!" May shouted angrily, just about ready to clobber me.

"Yeah!" Brendan agreed.

"That's what the Snag Machine was built for, lads. For taking Shadow Pokemon! They are _evil!_" Michael explained.

"Wha...?"

"Michael is correct." I said.

"Oh... Well, Eevee, use Quick Attack!"

Eevee dashed at Kabuto, a streak of white light behind it. The attack brought it deeper into the yellows.

"Chikorita, use..."

"Brendan, Call it! Otherwise, you may KO it!" I cried. "Plus, it increases Accuracy!"

"OK... CHIKORITA!" Brendan Called.

"Chi-ka!" Chikorita said, rearing up. Its Accuracy stat was boosted.

"Kabuto, Shadow Blitz!"

Again, Kabuto rushed into a Pokemon, this time Eevee. It was nearly KO'd, but survived.

"Okay, Snag Ball no. 2! Go!" I yelled, tossing another red-illuminated Poke Ball. Kabuto was sucked up into it in red light, and after three twitches, I knew it was caught.

"Well, Shadow Pokemon number two..." I said.

"Pat, can I have Omanyte?" Brendan asked.

"Yes. May, take Kabuto." I tossed the Poke Balls to them, and they smiled. Unfortunately, the three shady characters got away with their device, but the Professor was safe.

"Michael, will you stay behind?" I asked.

"What do ya' mean, laddie?"

"We're gonna thwart the Shadow Pokemon Plan that's obviously rising again... But only the three of us."

"Um... Okay."

"Good."

0o0o0o0o0o0

After we had gotten our Pokemon healed in the healer inside the lab, May, Brendan, and I got some motor-scooters, and made our way to our next destination... Gateon Port.

PM: Whew, this was long! YOW! Anyway, R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

The Search Gets Underway

The next day, we three made it to Gateon Port, a large seaside trade center. An immense lighthouse stood isolated, but because of my "knowledge", I knew about the rotating bridges in the bay.

"Wow, that salty air really... ACHOO!" Brendan sneezed loudly. "...Cleans out your sinuses..." He wiped his nose.

"EEEW!" May cried.

"People, can we focus on the task at hand? Which would be exterminating Shadow Pokemon?" I asked, annoyed.

"Oh, yeah. That. Sure." Brendan replied. We all walked off in different directions; May to the Poke Mart; Brendan to the Pokemon Center to book some rooms; and me to the lighthouse, after rotating the passageways correctly. I took the elevator to the top. On the way, I fingered my Snag Machine, and more importantly, stared at my gloves, the ones Lovrina gave to me... _They smelled like her perfume. Ugh!_ But, uh... Anyway, I stared at the gray **C **for a while, thinking to myself...

0o0o0o0o0o0

I got to the top, and saw someone wanting a battle from me. Since I had gotten in some practice with Totodile, I accepted. The guy's name was Kent. He had light blue hair, sky blue eyes, and a plain yellow outfit with brown boots, as well as a red cap. Very... _"Far out."_

"You ready to lose?" Kent antagonized.

"Within your reveries!" I replied calmly, getting a questioning look from him.

"Okay..." he said softly in a sarcastic tone. He threw a Poke Ball, calling out:

"Lileep, come forth!"

"Lil-il..." sighed Lileep, a Grass/ Rock-Type that looked like a flower. It had pink petals, a purple "root system" and "head", a black, invisible face with only yellow eyes visible, yellow designs along the "head" or whatever, and a yellow, striped "neck" between the top and bottom portions of its body.

"Totodile, you're up!"

Out of the Poke Ball I threw appeared a crocodile-like creature that stood on hind legs. Its body was blue, save for a yellow line on its belly and a red spike on its tail and three together on its back.

"Toto-DAAAH!" the Pokemon called out, sounding slightly like Donald Duck. It then blinked several times and ran to me, cowering behind me.

"Uh... Totodile? Aren't you going to...?" I gasped as the antennae and visor appeared in front of my eyes, reading and saying:

"Lileep. Level 7. Grass/ Rock Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON."

"What's some guy like you doin' with a Shadow Pokemon!" I called to my opponent.

"I joined some organization who gives out cool Pokemon."

I gritted my teeth. "Yeah, right... Totodile, I _need _you to battle. **_Please._**" I pleaded.

"To... Dah-dah." Totodile nodded anxiously.

"Thanks! Let's battle, you Dueling Monkey!" I growled, throwing in a Seto Kaiba-like voice. (Someone from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime who is the coolest of all the characters, except for Dartz.)

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one Battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Totodile vs. Kent's Lileep

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Lileep, Shadow Blitz!" Kent shouted.

Lileep pried itself off from its location, jumping at Totodile, illuminated in an evil (Gack ack ack... GACK ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK... I have _got _to stop laughing evilly to myself.) purple aura.

"No ya don't! Totodile, use uh..."

'What were its special moves, again? I remember Prof. Krane saying it was one from Battlus...' I pondered.

- - - - -**FLASHBACK**- - - - -

"_This Totodile has special moves, because it's from Battlus, Master of Mt. Battle." Krane explained to me._

"_Its moves are Crunch, Scratch, Leer, and the super powerful Hydro Cannon."_

- - - - -**END FLASHBACK**- - - - -

"Crunch, Scratch, Leer, and Hydro Cannon... Hydro Cannon's too powerful, and even with Leer, Scratch isn't very powerful... That leaves me with Crunch. Totodile, dodge and use Crunch!"

Totodile dodged Lileep's Shadow attack, and opened its mouth, sharp, white teeth glowing dark purple. It leapt over to Lileep and bit down on it. The Dark attack caused a fair amount of damage, and Kent was shocked at how my Pokemon knew Crunch at all, and especially at such a low level!

"Grr..." he growled after Totodile let go, returning to my side of the field.

"Awesome, Totodile!" I cheered.

"Toto-dah!" Totodile replied, clenching its fist in pride.

"Lileep, Shadow Blitz!"

Lileep became surrounded in its dark aura again, and rammed into Totodile, successful in hitting.

"Totodile, no! You okay?" I cried.

"Toto... DAAAAAHHHH!" Totodile bawled... A sweat drop appeared on my head.

"Totodile, don't cry! Get _really mad!_ Get madder than ever! And then use Scratch!"

Totodile stopped crying, and snapped its eyes open. A dark, angry expression appeared on its face, and it slashed at Lileep, Scratch succeeding, and being _critical!_ Since Lileep was very weak, I set my Snag Machine to work. I threw a Poke Ball from the hand the Snag Machine was on, after illuminating it in red/ purple. It sucked up Lileep in red light, and twitched three times, a maraca-like sound coming out from it whenever it shook. After some shakes, I knew I caught it, and I also won!

"Alright! I got Shadow Pokemon number three!" I recalled Totodile, him retreating in red light into its Ball.

"YOU THIEF!" Kent yelled.

"Kent, Kent... The "organization" you joined is evil! I Snagged your Shadow Pokemon! Which is good, because it could've contaminated you with evil!"

"Huh?"

"...Just be glad I Snagged it, okay? It's for a good cause."

"OK. Since you obviously won, take this. 257 Pokemon Dollars." Kent gave me rectangular pieces of currency, all with a certain number on them, their respective number and color, and a Poke Ball. The two hundreds were light yellow orange, the fifty dark blue, the five pink, and the two ones were white. (I used my Monopoly money colors for this. I DO NOT OWN.)

"Uh, thanks, Kent." I took the money, stuffing into a small, black wallet I had. I then noticed it had a dark gray **C** on it, like my gloves... It also had a green Poke Ball symbol.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After I got back to the plaza of Gateon, I met up with Brendan.

"Pat! Come quick! May's fighting someone with clothing like that big dude back at the Pokemon HQ Lab!" he called. I ran over to where the fray was occurring. Brendan was right; I saw some male with blonde hair, in black and white clothing like Gandog, the guy with Naps and Nexir. Only this guy was about 5' 4''. Gandog was about 6' 3''!

Anyway, I saw May's Eevee was about ready to give out. Her opponent's Pokemon was his only one; an Anorith; a Bug/ Rock Element with a scorpion-shaped body. It had two gray claws that were black tipped, a hammerhead shark-like, black and gray head with eyes out from the head, like a hammerhead, and eight white, red tipped plates, four on each side of the belly. Its tail, unlike a scorpion's, was split, with two sharp protrusions in an upward position. It was also taken down a bit.

The green visor zipped in front of my eyes, and it distinguished Anorith.

"Anorith. Level 7. Bug/ Rock Element. Shadow move: Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON."

"Huh... This Shadow Pokemon only has one Shadow move... Weird." I said to myself.

"May! Shadow Pokemon alert!" I called.

"'Kay, Pat. I'll weaken it a bit. Eevee, Tail Whip and Tackle!"

May's Eevee wagged its tail, lowering Anorith's Defense. It then rammed into the crayfish, lowering its HP more. I then threw an illuminated Poke Ball at it. It shook three times, a maraca sound sounding with each shake. It stopped, and I picked it up.

"You lose!" Brendan taunted the opponent.

"So what? You may have beaten me, Nixen. But you will never defeat the mighty, new-improved **_CIPHER!_**" Nixen ran away, out of Gateon.

"Cipher?" May repeated.

"Cipher: An evil organization bent on taking over the world with Shadow Pokemon. It was thwarted twice; once seven years ago, by a boy named Wes and a girl named Rui. And then two years ago, Michael defeated the Grand Master." I explained, getting questioning looks.

"OK... Well, we've dealt with that stuff before. Kinda. Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn tried takin' over the world." Brendan said.

"Yeah, wow. Can we go now? Did we get supplies?" I asked.

"Yes." May and Brendan replied in unison.

We were about to leave Gateon, when May spotted something shiny that Nixen dropped. It turned out to be a pamphlet of info; about where they would strike next: RELIC FOREST!

"Oh no!" I cried when May read that. "That's one means of purifying Shadow Pokemon! If they destroy it, were **_sunk!_**"

"Yikes! Let's go! Uh... How do you know that, Pat?" Brendan questioned.

"I have my sources. Oh, uh... Agate Village and the Relic Forest are to the..." I paused, trying to remember the Pokemon XD map...

"From the entranceway Agate Village is to the... It's due east!"

We hopped on our motor-scooters Michael gave to us. They were no longer gray-white. Brendan's was metallic Ruby, May's was a sparkling Sapphire, and mine was Emerald; sparkly on the left and metallic on the right. (Note: I listed the colors in order I got the games; I also chose Brendan's character for Ruby, May's for Sapphire, and Brendan "2" for Emerald.)

We headed toward Agate Village, where we expected to find Cipher and the Relic Stone...

PM: Another hopefully worthwhile Chapter. R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4:

A-gate to the Relic Stone, and the First "Boss Battle"!

May, Brendan, and I made it to Agate Village, a lush city in Orre. We three gasped in awe when we saw how beautiful it was, with the natural waterfalls and streams, and the large trees, which were partial homes, and I don't mean for Pokemon!

...But nothing lasts too long...

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" came a yell. I ran ahead of my comrades, and I saw someone in an orange long-sleeve shirt, work boots, and blue overalls get tossed aside by a Cipher member! The Cipher guy ran into a cave leading to the Relic Stone Forest, so I bolted in after him, while Brendan and May helped the man. They had gotten the Anorith (Brendan) and Lileep (May) from yesterday, so they held their own against a wave of Cipher members that suddenly bum-rushed 'em!

0o0o0o0o0o0

A sole Cipher member was at the Relic Stone when I got there (After trouncing some others in the cavern with my muscle and mind.) He was in black and white clothing, so I suspected he was the lowest rank, a Grunt.

"Ahem..." I said, startling him.

"YAH! What is it!" he cried, and then turned to see me.

"Oh, great. Not you, again, the guy who was lucky enough to sleep with Lovrina!"

I snorted, steam coming from my ears. "LUCKY! HA-HA-HA-HA! How is that lucky, you unimportant uberdufus!"

"Uber-what?"

"Never mind! I challenge you to a battle, dude! My Totodile against TWO of your Pokemon!" I shouted.

"I'm not sure if that's a wise decision, Pat." came a soft feminine voice. It was May, with Brendan beside her.

"Relax guys. How tough can a Cipher Grunt be? I choose you Totodile!" I threw out Totodile's Poke Ball, and my only and first Pokemon appeared.

...Like in Gateon, he ran over to me and clutched my legs, weeping loudly.

"Totodile..." I sighed, annoyed.

"Pat, I'll help you with this goofball! Let's go Anorith!" Brendan called, bringing out his Shadow Anorith.

"Nor-ith!" it shrieked. My visor came up, beeping: "NEW MOVES FOR LEVEL 7 ANORITH REVEALED! MOVES: SWORDS DANCE AND WATER GUN."

I looked at the visor, which soon disappeared. "Brenda, you can now order Anorith to use Swords Dance and Water Gun."

"Cool! Hey, wait... Grr... IT'S BRENDAN! NOT BRENDA!"

"Okay, whatever. Totodile, please battle. I won't be mad if you lose." I coaxed Totodile into battling. He got into a martial arts fighting position.

"Hmm... My Pokemon will destroy yours! Even though you're using two instead of the agreed **_ONE!_** I call forth the powers of the air!" The Grunt did a slow, Chi-gathering dance.

"Get on with it, bub..." I mumbled, causing him to fall over Anime style.

"Grr... I was building drama! Let's go, beasts of the sky! Swablu and Aerodactyl!"

A blue bird with white, cottony wings, blue head "ribbons", and a white beak appeared, next to a gray Pokemon with a big mouth and several serrated teeth, and claws on the edges of the wings.

"HAHAHA... was that out loud?" Brendan laughed.

"There's nothing to laugh at, Brendan. Aerodactyl is a Shadow Pokemon! Level: 8. Moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Mist." I said, reading what my green visor, which just popped up, read.

"How true." the Grunt mocked. "My creatures shall destroy you, for they are from me, Nixen!"

"Hey, wait! Didn't you battle May back in Gateon?" Brendan asked.

"Yes. I nearly defeated her, too!" Brendan and I turned red with anger.

"I see you both like her!" Nixen taunted.

"Well, I'm her boyfriend, duh!" Brendan replied.

"Yes, and for me, she is barely a friend. Who needs them? There's only one person a guy... Or girl... can trust when it comes down to the finest of details: him or herself!" I shouted, making B & M frown.

"Let's just battle!"

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two battle with no substitutions or time limits.

My Totodile and Brendan's Anorith vs. CG Nixen's Swablu and Aerodactyl

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Totodile, use Water Gun on Aerodactyl!"

Totodile closed it mouth, and then opened it, causing a blast of water to hit Aerodactyl. The hit was super effective against the Rock/Flying Element.

"Nice, Pat! Anorith, use Swords Dance and then Shadow Blitz on Swablu!"

Anorith clanged its claws together, faint swords appearing around it, slashing each other. Anorith's Attack was _sharply_ raised, pardon the pun. It then became illuminated in a dark violet aura, and charged at Swablu. Just like all Shadow attacks, Blitz was super effective, and, being a move reliant on Attack, clearly knocked Swablu out.

"Grr..." Nixen growled. He pointed out Swablu's Poke Ball, and it fired a red laser. Swablu became red energy, and went into the laser, which then retreated into the spherical body's confinements.

"Aerodactyl, use Shadow Mist!"

Aerodactyl formed a shadowy ball in its large gray jaws, which spread out on our side of the field as a big mass of fog, hindering what Brendan and I could see, as well as May and our Pokemon, plus lowering Totodile and Anorith's Accuracy! Of course, Totodile was scared...

"Now, Shadow Blitz!" came Nixen's shout. I saw a faint shadow through the evil fog, and then Aerodactyl when it tackled Totodile, causing a lot of damage!

"Totodile..." I gasped. "Grr..." I growled, clearly showing pure rage. Brendan must've been frightened, because he steeped back a bit. Maybe it was because...

_My whole eyes turned a dark emerald color! No pupil, no iris, no nothing!_

"What the..." Brendan said softly.

"_Totodile, use Blizzard attack on the fog!_"

My "eye thing" seemed to spread to my Pokemon, for his eyes turned dark green too! Totodile, though still a weak level, released the fury of _icebergs_ and snow! (Hmm? Why'd I italicize that...?)

The fury Blizzard made the fog dissipate, and Aerodactyl was revealed!

"_Urgh..._" I groaned as a fell to my knees, holding my head.

"Pat!" May cried, and ran over to me. "Are you okay!"

I opened my eyes. They were normal now, and I got back up.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Aerodactyl, Shadow Blitz!" Nixen yelled. Aerodactyl flew at Totodile to deliver another Shadow Blitz. But Totodile dodged, and our foe came at _May and me!_

"AAAHHH!" May screamed. "It's over for us!"

"Grr... Not if I can help it!" I pushed May away, and dodged Aerodactyl. He flew back to Nixen.

"Oh, thanks Pat!" May sighed, hugging me.

"HEY!" Brendan called.

"Get off me. Now. Please!" I cried, and May let go. "Now, Totodile, use Scratch!"

Totodile jumped at Aerodactyl and scratched its face, causing it to shriek.

A swooshing sound was heard as a Poke Ball zipped at Aerodactyl, illuminated red. It sucked up the fifth fossil Pokemon in red light, and twitched three times, and then quit. I caught our fifth Shadow Pokemon!

"I'll take Aerodactyl, guys." I said as I stuck the Poke Ball on my belt.

"That's fine. We have four Shadows total. You need at least one." Brendan replied, speaking of May a bit.

"Great!" I recalled Totodile, and attached its Poke Ball to my belt. But suddenly, when we were about to leave, a familiar face dropped down from a tree: NAPS!

"I found ya!" he shouted, causing us to turn around and see him.

"Not you again!" Brendan said in a moaning voice.

"Yeah, we beat ya before, Naps! Scram!" May added.

"I agree with my weaker friends." I said calmly.

"You won't this time! I have a much stronger Pokemon Team! I challenge May and... Pat!" Naps pointed at the above.

"Well, since you chose me, this will go quite fast." I mumbled cockily.

"No, since you chose _me_, it'll be fast!" May corrected, eyes turning happy Anime style.

"Whatever." Naps muttered, sounding like Chase Young from Xiaolin Showdown, a sweat drop on his brow. He held out two Poke Balls, and threw them, calling out:

"Let's gooooo! Gastly and Shroomish!"

Out of two Poke Balls came, on the left, a Ghost/Poison Element, which was a floating black circle with big eyes and a large mouth, with gas floating behind it, like a huge tail. "Ga-a-a-astly..." it moaned spookily.

On the right was a Grass Element, a mustard yellow mushroom body with green spots and an angry face. A green bottom was under it, with two small feet. "Shroom-oom-ish!" it grunted.

"Who's up next with _moi_, guys?" I asked.

"I'll go." May replied, and walked up to me, holding out a Poke Ball.

"Come on out," she called, "Lileep!"

Lileep appeared on the field. "Lileep!" it cried out.

"I better give Totodile a rest. Of course, if I used it, it would be..." I paused, and then shouted to Naps in a more serious and even more mature voice, "**_Toto annihilation._**" This caused a few laughed from May and Brendan.

"So, let's do this! Aerodactyl!"

Aerodactyl came out of the Poke Ball, and gave a great shriek:

"AEROOODACTYL!"

My visor pooped up for the fifth time. It read:

"Gastly. Level 10. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON!" M & B heard.

"...Time to duel." I said monotonously.

"?" May said, meaning it was inaudible to anyone, except Brendan, who read her lips... Her beautiful, sweet, tempting, kissable... Please disregard my last statement.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions. How so totally not different.

My Aerodactyl and May's Lileep vs. CP Naps' Gastly and Shroomish

BATTLE COMMENCE!

My visor suddenly zipped out from my shoulder again.

"NEW MOVE FOR: SHADOW LILEEP. MOVE NAME: RECOVER."

"May, Lileep now knows Recover."

"Great! Lileep, Shadow Blitz!"

Lileep surrounded itself in a shadowy aura, and tackled into Shroomish. As usual, the attack was super effective.

"Ha! I could _so _do better than that!" Naps shouted, reminding me of Lovrina...

"Shroomish, use Mega Drain on Aerodactyl!"

A green ball of energy formed in front of Shroomish and my Aerodactyl. Energy streamed from Aerodactyl's to Shroomish. The Grass attack caused minor damage to the Rock/ Flying Type.

"And now, Gastly, use Shadow Blitz!"

Gastly became surrounded like Lileep previously was, and charged at Lileep. The Shadow move against a Shadow Pokemon barely did a thing.

"...I thought you could do better, Naps." I taunted. "...Y'know, how about this, Naps. If you give us Gastly, we'll let you be safe from me. If you do not... I'll make you _take _a nap." This caused a growl to arise from the aforementioned CP, and laughs to come from us.

"Great one, Pat! You're a riot!" Brendan cried, clutching his stomach.

I stopped laughing suddenly. "It's not funny..." We then began roaring with laughter!

"SHUT UP!" Naps yelled. He ordered Shroomish to Tackle us, but it couldn't hear.

"Okay, okay... Let's get serious, people. Aerodactyl, finish off Shroomish with... Huh?"

Instead of my visor poppin' up so _I_ could see, we all could see Aerodactyl in a red glow...

"It's entered Mega Mode!" Naps cried out.

"Mega Mode?" I repeated. "Is that like Reverse and Hyper Mode?"

"Uh, yes."

"Hmm... AERODACTYL!" I Called, snapping him out of his hostile mode, also lowering his "Shadow Meter", which meant he was closer to purification standards. My visor popped up again, and read Aerodactyl had learned the move Toxic.

Since Call used up a move, May took over.

"Lileep, use Shadow Blitz on Shroomish again!"

Lileep once again rammed Shroomish in a purple aura, causing the mushroom to faint from two super effective hits. From Naps' hand shot a red beam, and it sucked Shroomish back into its Ball as red energy.

"One down, one to go." I mumbled.

"Gastly, Shadow Blitz again!"

Gastly delivered a hardly effective Shadow Blitz to Aerodactyl again.

"Aerodactyl! Shadow Blitz back!"

Aerodactyl used Shadow Blitz, proving the battle was a Shadow Blitz blitzkrieg!

A Poke Ball appeared in my hand again, and became illuminated. I threw it at Gastly, and the ghastly Pokemon was sucked up. After a few shakes, I knew I caught it. I picked up the latest Snag Ball in my hand, and claimed it for myself. 'Twas only fair.

After May and I recalled our Pokemon, I called to Naps:

"Naps, you fought a good battle, but in the end... Your stupidity did you in. BE GONE!" Naps was scared by me, and jumped away. He left a strange, shiny silver notebook with a title of _The **Ultimate **Ultimate Shadow Pokemon_. I skimmed through it, seeing words like "pillar", "green", and "swift". Parts of it must've met an acidic liquid, for six of the ten pages were blackened and ripped.

"That doesn't help at all!" I yelled, throwing the book. It hit the gray Relic Stone in the center of a stony circle, cracking the cover of the book.

I noticed May and Brendan were already near the cave we came through, so I began to follow, allowing them to continue. I stopped, and picked up the book. I stuffed it in my supplies bag, and then ran to catch up to B & M.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After buying a few Potions, a small amount of Great Balls, (We could only get five.) a Cologne Case from some mysterious old man with a long gray beard, a purple robe with a green inside with blue designs along the "skirt"-like bottom, a blue belt with a yellow bone thing in the middle, and brown shoes, and different Scents; 10 Joys, 8 Excites, and 5 Vivids. (I bought 'em and May thought they were for her, causing her to hug me yet again, _and_ for her to use HALF OF THEM ON HER!) Since it was late, Brendan booked a one-night stay at the Agate Village Pokemon Center. The Hoennshipping couple went back to Gateon for a few hours, saying they would catch a romantic movie... I left it at that. But who knows what the Krabby Club has to offer...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I was alone... Again... The first time I had been alone since I came to the Pokemon World... Except for my Pokemon. I decided to, instead of sit around in my room and wait for B & M, go have some time alone with my Pokemon in the Relic Forest. After leaving a note for Brendan and May, I walked out of the Pokemon Center and down a slope into the Relic Cavern, reaching the Relic Stone's site. I sent out my Pokemon, introducing them to Gastly. ...Totodile was rather apprehensive.

I then opened my Cologne Case, a cube-shaped chest with a red top and white bottom, like a Poke Ball, and pulled out different colored spray bottles. Ones with JOY on them were blue and small, ones with EXCITE on the side were green and medium-sized, and the few with VIVID on them were red and large. I took three Joy Scents and sprayed Gastly twice and Aerodactyl once. The Scents massaged Shadow Pokemon and regular Pokemon, and also got Shadows nearer to being purified!

I next sprayed an Excite on Gastly, and my visor popped up. Aside from Shadow Blitz and S. Hold, it had just learned the move Psywave!

I sprayed a second Excite on Aerodactyl, who screeched happily.

Last, I used the last two Vivid Scents, one on Aerodactyl and one on Gastly. Aerodactyl learned its fourth move from Purification: Whirlwind! Gastly and especially Aerodactyl were very close to being Purified!

0o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours later, outside the Pokemon Center

May and Brendan had come back from Gateon Port a bit earlier than I expected. I was about to ask them what the movie they saw was when a thought struck my mind.

"Guys, when you were in Gateon, did you have a 'romantic' time on top of the lighthouse?" I asked.

"Yeah!" May replied, grinning in a silly way.

"Hmm... Well, did either of you happen to see an island out to the west?"

"Mmm... Nope, don't think so."

"Although, May and I did see a strange bunch a' clouds over a little piece of land. It looked like a volcano." Brendan said.

"AHA!" I cried out. "I mean, uh... Okay."

May shrugged, as did Brendan.

"Well, it's late. We should get some sleep."

We headed into our room. There were two sets of bunk beds, made out of mahogany wood. Of course, May and Brendan were in one, B on top. I was in the other one, on the left. Soon, the sound of three peoples' snoring could be heard from outside the door...

PM: Another long Chappie... But only one day's time used! I'M A GENIUS! But you knew that, again.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5:

Delma Dilemma Pt. 1 (Great, a two-parter...)

The next day, we all had gotten out of Agate Village, and headed back to the Pokemon HQ Lab to see if any Cipher activity had come up. It was an hour-long ride, so we went ahead and left.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After an hour, we three were at the Pokemon HQ Lab, the true start of adventure. Once inside, we saw Michael and Professor Krane conversing.

"Yo, Michael!" Brendan called, causing a yellow question mark to pop over my head.

"Uh... I'll take over the Q & A, B & M." I walked over to Michael.

"Okay, Michael. Let me slobber ya' up."

"YUCK, LADDIE! YOU'RE GR-R-ROSS!"

"I didn't mean the slurpy version, you imbecilic, insolent idiot! Let me ask ya..."

I spent the morning asking my questions, and this was the answer to "Where any action has come up?" Another tower like Realgam Tower (Someone tell me how ta' pronounce Realgam.). It was called the Delma Pillar. Michael had seen a number of Cipher Grunts and a Peon or two go in, along with a large, spiky-haired red head wearing a white one-piece suit which had only a thin strip of cloth from the bottom of the legs around his bare feet, and a, according to my George of the Jungle movie, a "butt flap". His whole clothing was Indian-like. He even had red marks on his cheeks! Michael also commented that he'd be easy to point out in a crowd just by his height; 7 feet!

"Well, I guess we better go. Y'know, I read about a Delma Pillar in that book I picked up in the Relic Forest... The member assigned was Cipher Admin Dakim... Uh, anyway, Delma Pillar is... Um..." I murmured. Pictures of me flipping through the notebook entered my mind, and I remembered that it _didn't say_!

_...But then I remembered a vision from when I finished Pokemon XD... I drew a whole map of the Orre Region, creating my own places for a sequel... _

_**I created Delma Pillar! **It hit me like a ton of bricks! Some of the new things in the Orre Region were my doing!_

Remembering the direction and whereabouts, I said after a long pause:

"Delma Pillar is east of Agate Village."

"Well then, time to kick butt!" Brendan cried out, kicking like a mad man.

"Brendan, calm down." I said sternly, causing him to stop.

"Who are ya', my mom!" he yelled.

"No, just a genius." A sweat drop appeared on the back of his head.

We were about to leave when a woman in a pink lab coat, blue high heels, white and brown clothing underneath, brown hair, and blue eyes came out the door of the lab. "Hold on!" she called.

"Who are you?" May asked.

"Um, I'm Lily, Michael's mother. May I ask you to find my daughter, Jovi?"

There was a small silence, and then I answered. "We will, Lily."

"Thank you. I think she's over at one of Professor Krane's friend's lab; Dr. Kaminko. Kaminko's House is south of here." Lily pointed to the south. But, when I heard we were going to Kaminko's House... Yikes. That place is spooky.

"Okay, Lily! We'll bring her back!" May said, hopping on her scooter, as did Brendan with his.

"Let's make this quick." I mumbled.

"Let's go!" Brendan called out, rumbling away in front of us.

"Don't you mean, 'gotta scoot', in a literal manner?" I asked him when May and I caught up. They both just sweat dropped...

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kaminko's House

After a half-hour ride, we came upon the mansion that eccentric scientist Kaminko lived in. It was dark, gloomy, and spooky. Many trees around the area were dead. A t-storm without rain hung in the atmosphere. Last, a dark gray pedestal with a little figure of a Pokemon on it centered the yard. The Pokemon on it was a dinosaur-like creature, having a head crest, spines along its sides, a pointed tail like its head crest, and darkened markings on its hands and arms... I recognized it slightly...

"Yee! A Groudon statue!" May cried, some of her hair spiking up.

"...Relax May. It's not like it'll come out and bite ya'." I said, shaking my head. As Brendan and May talked about their experiences with Legendaries, I walked up to the door to Kaminko's Laboratory. But then someone yelled out:

"Stop right there!"

I looked to my right to see a small someone in a white lab coat with a red suit under it, a yellow bowtie, well-kept blue hair, lab shoes, and weird glasses. They were large, with a blue spiral.

"You must be Dr. K's first and only assistant, Chobin." I said as he ran up to me.

"And you are a burglar! I will punish you!" the person, Chobin, said threateningly.

"Hold on!" May called. She and Brendan had walked up to the commotion. "Pat isn't a thief!"

"Yeah, right! You're saying that because you... You must be his partner!"

"GRR!" Brendan growled. "Listen, Short Stuff! I don't care who you are! I'm gonna rip you to shreds!"

"Brendan! That is not the way to solve things. I shall deal with this maladroit midget. I can tell all our little friend wants is a battle." I said calmly, pacing around Chobin.

"I'll whoop your butt!" Chobin snarled. He started to run at me, when May stepped in.

"Stop, Mister. Pat and I challenge you to a battle!"

"FINE! YOU VIDEO GAME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK VIOLENCE SOLVES EVERYTHING, HUH!" Chobin roared.

"Video game heroes...?" Brendan repeated.

"Uh, Chobin, can we just battle?" I asked, not wanting the "fourth dimension" to be broken. I pulled out a Poke Ball.

"Okay, let's do this." Chobin pulled out two Poke Balls, and May pulled out one of her own.

"C'mon out, Aron and Chikorita!" Chobin shouted. Upon the field appeared a Chikorita and an Aron, a Rock/Steel Element with a large, gray, oval-shaped head, large blue eyes surrounded by black, and a small, oval-shaped, gray body with a spike from the back, a black underbody, and four small claws.

"Ar-on!" Aron barked.

"Chi-ka!" Chikorita cried out.

"Gastly, c'mon out!" I shouted, throwing Gastly's Ball. My new Ghost/Poison Pokemon appeared on the field in a flash of white light.

"Gastly..." it moaned spookily.

"I choose you! Eevee!" May's Eevee popped out of its Poke Ball, and once on the battle field, did a few flips.

"Vee!" it barked.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Gastly and May's Eevee vs. Chobin's Aron and Chikorita

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Right before May was about to declare an attack, I stopped her. My visor came up! A white cursor moved over to Aron.

"Aron. Lv. 9. Rock/ Steel Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON."

"CHOBIN! YOU DARE OWN A SHADOW POKEMON?" I yelled, each word containing burning venom.

"A Shadow Pokemon? Are you out of your mind? What makes you say that?"

"My Shadow Monitor detected your Aron. It's a Shadow Pokemon."

"What? I uh... Whoops. I knew the people who gave me Aron were weird but familiar! I recall you, Chikorita!" Chobin cried out, recalling his Grass Type.

"Huh? Aren't we still battling?" May asked.

"...May, Chobin must realize we aren't burglars. Could you weaken Gastly so I can Snag it?"

"...Um... OK. Eevee, use Bite on Aron two times!"

Eevee, hearing May's command, dashed toward Aron, fangs out and glowing dark. It bit down once, then a second time. The attacks made Aron weak enough for Snagging!

"Let's go, Snag Ball!" I roared, throwing a red-illuminated Poke Ball. After it sucked Aron up in red light, it dropped to the ground. _SHK-SHK, SHK-SHK, SHK-SHK._

"I Snagged it! Yeah!" I cheered. I picked up the Poke Ball and let Brendan, who claimed it, have it.

"So, Chobin, you really had no idea your Aron was a Shadow, correct?" Brendan asked after he walked up to our midget friend.

"I didn't! Some weird people gave it to me at the Delma Pillar!"

"I see..." I said softly.

0o0o0o0o0o0

I went into Dr. Kaminko's main lab after Chobin treated us to some lunch. I soon found him behind his desk. He had gray hair in an upward position, glasses like Chobin's, a small gray beard, a silver lab coat over a yellow long-sleeve shirt, red pants, and boots.

"Ahem... Doctor Kaminko, I presume?" I said, trying to sound impressive.

"What, ho? What are you doing here? Who are you?" Kaminko asked. His voice was gruff.

"I'm Pat, sir. And I came here to find a girl named Jovi. She's Michael's, the one who defeated Cipher a few years ago, sister. Have you seen her?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. The one you speak of is somewhere by Chobin's room..."

"Oh, okay. Thank you Doctor."

I left his room and walked across the hall. Because of my, ahem, _gaming _expertise, I knew there was only one way Jovi could've gone: into the basement. I walked into Chobin's room and down a set of stairs. Luckily, Chobin was outside with Brendan and May.

I found myself in a dark room. There were many cranes everywhere, as well as different colored buttons.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I shouted as I walked around, my voice echoing.

"I am." said a meek voice.

I looked to my left to see a young girl with blue hair fixed in balls at the top of her head and blue eyes. She wore high blue boots and a white "dress". Jovi.

"Ah, hello. Are you perhaps Jovi?" I asked.

"Yes. Who are you?" Jovi walked up to me.

"I came here to look for you. I'm Pat. Your mom told me to come look for you."

"Okay. I'm sorry I came here without asking."

"Oh, it's not me you should tell, Jovi. C'mon. Ready to go?" I stuck out my arm with the Snag Machine on it so she could grab it.

"What's that...? Oh, wait... I remember Prof. Krane was working on a new Snag thingie." Jovi said, seeing the Machine.

"Oh, yeah. Cipher is back, as you might know, and I'm whoopin' there butts!" I did a few karate kicks, making Jovi giggle.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

Jovi gave a nod, and we walked out of Dr. K's lab.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours later; Agate Village

After dropping Jovi off at the HQ Lab, B, M, and I headed toward Delma Pillar. We decided to take a break in Agate Village, so on the way we stopped.

"Pat, can I see that your Aerodactyl is acting weird..." May said. We let our Pokemon out to play, but Aerodactyl kept getting constant headaches.

"Yeah... What's wrong with it, I wonder?"

My visor popped up and gave us the answer. "Aerodactyl's Purification process: COMPLETE! Moves as of now: Shadow Blitz, Shadow Mist, Toxic, and Whirlwind."

"Oh, man! Aerodactyl can be Purified!" I cried happily.

"That's great!" May cheered.

"Yeah!" Brendan added.

They noticed I was gone. I had ran to the Relic Forest and the Relic Stone, more importantly. After releasing Aerodactyl from its Poke Ball, I told it to fly up to the Relic Stone.

Then something happened.

_Whoosh! A strange noise was heard, and a saw a small Pokemon fly around Aerodactyl very fast. All I could see was a blur of green... And then my visor popped up._

"_New moves for Purified Pokemon: Aerodactyl: Wing Attack and Pursuit." it beeped and flashed._

_But I hardly paid attention, for I watched the little bee-shaped blur fly around... _

_I recalled Aerodactyl and left._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Even though I was still shaken from the literal "Flight of the Bumblebee", B, M, and I carried on to Delma, and reached it in an hour. Out from the horizon rose a brown colored tower with a slightly curved roof. It appeared to have five stories, roof included. Darkened windows were on each level. Lastly, there was a rectangular dark brown door opened from the middle. It had a Poke Ball on the middle, which was halved when the door opened.

"Let's do this." I said. But before we could go through the door, a Cipher Grunt dropped down. It was a male, with blond hair.

"Aha! So you came!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me. "I shall whoop your butts! I, Steve, challenge bleach-hair boy and Brunette to a battle! PREPARE TO **LOSE!**"

He took out two Poke Balls, and tossed them out. Two Normal Elements came upon the field; a Sentret, a raccoon Pokemon with a brown and white striped tail, brown rabbit ears, a brown body except for a white ring on its belly, and white feet, and an Eevee.

Before May and Brendan could summon two Pokemon, my visor appeared, and the white circular cursor drifted upon Sentret on the screen.

"Sentret. Level 11. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"

May and Brendan heard the voice on it, so I had no need to alert them of the dire situation, dramatically speaking.

"C'mon out, Aron!" Brendan shouted.

"You too! Lileep!" May cried.

Their Aron and Lileep appeared on the field with bursts of white light.

"Ar-ron!"

"Lileep..."

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

May's Lileep and Brendan's Aron vs. Cipher Grunt Steve's Eevee and Sentret

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Lileep, Shadow Blitz!" May shouted, pointing a finger at the desired target.

Lileep became surrounded in a purple aura, and it tackled Eevee. The attack of the Shadow Element was, as usual, super effective.

"Aron, Shadow Wave!"

Aron reared up on its hind legs, and a shadowy-colored ball formed in front of it. Two tiny specs of shadow floated towards both Eevee and Sentret. Since it was a rather weak attack, and the power was halved with the two targets, Eevee received little damage, and Sentret received even less, being a Shadow.

"Eevee, Bite! Sentret, Shadow Wave!"

Eevee dashed toward a target, Lileep, with fangs glowing dark. The attack on the Grass/Rock-Type was successful, and so was Sentret's version of Shadow Wave. May and Brendan had a clear advantage in HP.

"Lileep, Shadow Blitz again; this time on Sentret!"

Lileep performed a Shadowy tackle again, on Sentret. This brought the Pokemon into the yellows.

"Aron, Shadow Panic!"

Aron reared up again, and another shadowy ball formed in front of it. This time, two yellow orbs came out, which hit both Eevee and Sentret. Stars erupted from them, which caused the Confuse status.

"Um... Shadow Wave again, Sentret!"

Sentret tried to attack, but it hit itself with its tail three times, causing its Hp to drop a little.

"Okay, here we go! Snag Ball, do your stuff!" I cried, throwing a Poke Ball illuminated red.

In red light, Sentret was drawn into the Poke Ball. With a few _SHK-SHK_s, it was Snagged.

"Yeah!" May cheered, then turned back to the battle. "Now, Lileep, finish off Eevee with Shadow Blitz."

Lileep took a third or fourth charge, which caused a KO. CG Steve, May, and Brendan recalled their Pokemon, unless someone else owned one... Heh heh...

"Grr... I'll be back!" Steve growled. He ran away from the pillar.

"I want Sentret!" May cried out, running over to me. She grabbed the Poke Ball.

"You may have it. May we move on... _May?_ Heh..." I chuckled. We all walked into the Delma Pillar, ready for the Cipher Grunt barrages.

0o0o0o0o0o0

On the second floor, two Grunts ambushed us. One was a male with gray hair, and the other was a female, with long black hair.

"Betcha don't know how we keep dropping in on ya, do ya?" said the woman.

"We had super-strong tape on our hands! Ha-ha-ha!" the male shouted.

"Oh, how impressive. I bet your battling skills will be as dumb and bad as that trick!" Brendan mocked.

"HEY! We used to be trainers at Mt. Battle!" the male said.

'That's right... Ein told me he was scouting for Grunts and Peons at Mt. Battle when I was at the Cipher Lab.' I thought.

"And now you shall perish... Whoever wants to battle."

"I shall battle." I said, my voice slightly deep.

"And I'll help!" May added, stepping up.

"You sure May?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm."

"I, Sivil..." said the female.

"And I, Newin..." the male said.

"SHALL DEFEAT YOU!"

Sivil and Newin tossed two Poke Balls into the air. Out of them came a Staryu, a Water Pokemon with a yellow, star-shaped body with a red gem in the center. Next to it appeared a Machop, a small blue Fighting Pokemon that looked like a baby. It had a set of yellow head crests and a tail.

"HYA!" Staryu yelled.

"Machop-ma!" Machop grunted.

"Alrighty, then. C'mon out, Totodile!"

"You too, Eevee!"

Upon the field materialized my Totodile and May's Eevee.

"Toto-dah!" Totodile shouted... It then dashed behind me and hid.

"Totodile... Do we hafta go through this again?" I groaned.

Totodile nodded.

I sighed. If I had to persuade Totodile one more time...

"Totodile, if I give you some food after we knock the snot outta them, will you please, _please _battle?"

Totodile nodded again.

"Thank you."

Battle statistics: This is a four-on-four tag battle with no time limit or substitutions.

May's Eevee and my Totodile vs. CG Sivil and Newin's Staryu and Machop

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Totodile, start this thing off with a Crunch attack!"

Totodile opened its jaws, and his teeth began glowing purple. He then ran toward the nearest target, Staryu (Or rather danced-walked), and bit down hard, causing Staryu to cry out in pain.

"And now, Eevee, use Dig!"

Eevee reared up, and then dug its brown paws into the earthen floor, soon disappearing from sight... A big hole was its only reminder.

A minute later, the Normal Element popped out from a hole in front of Machop and rammed him with a dirt-covered body. Eevee returned to May's side of the battlefield and shook off the dirt.

'Hmm... From the looks of things, May's strategies need work... Machop may use Earthquake next time Dig is performed, and that shall be the end of Eevee. If we want to take down Cipher, we're going to reform some strategies...' I thought, thinking of some of the Pokemon I saw in capture while I was leaving the Cipher Lab...

"Machop, destroy Pat's stupid little alligator..." Newin began.

"CROCODILE!" I shouted, correcting his mistake. A red anger cross appeared on Totodile's forehead.

"Yeah, whatever. Machop, destroy Pat's stupid little _crocodile_..."

"HE'S NOT STUPID OR LITTLE!"

"FINE! Machop, destroy Pat's _annoying_ crocodile..."

"HE'S NOT ANNOYING!"

"ALL RIGHT! I GET IT!" An anger cross appeared on Newin's head. "Machop, destroy Pat's _ugly_ crocodile..."

A sweat drop formed on May's, Brendan's, Sivil's, Machop's, and Staryu's heads as I shouted:

"HE'S NOT THAT UGLY!"

"SHUT UP! MACHOP, DESTROY PAT'S TOTODILE NOW! Is that better?"

"Yes... **_AND YA DON'T HAFTA YELL!_**" More sweat drops formed on the previously mentioned people's heads plus Newin.

"Machop, use Mega Punch! Sheesh..."

Machop balled up its fist, which began glowing in a white shine. He then clobbered Totodile's jaw, making Totodile bawl...

"Totodile... Would you stop? He didn't hurt you that much, got it?"

"Toto... Dah..." Totodile mumbled, crossing his arms.

'I think he just said... _Fine, Mr. High-and-mighty human!_' I pondered.

"Staryu, Swift!"

Staryu spun around the battlefield, and stopped in front of Totodile. Then hundreds of yellow stars flew from its red gem, aimed at my Pokemon.

"I don't think so! Totodile, deflect them with Powder Snow!"

Totodile inhaled cold blue air, and blew it out in the form of hail-like objects at the Swift attack, deflecting them _back _at Staryu!

"WHAT? Grr!" Sivil growled.

"Heh-heh-heh..." I cackled.

'Wow. Even though he's a beginner, Pat's strength is... phenomenal! _He's stronger than Brendan was the **second **time I battled him!_' May thought as she gazed at me. I noticed her staring.

"Is there a problem, May?" I asked.

"Wha? Uh, no! No problem, no." she stuttered.

"All right then." My gaze redirected onto the field.

"Totodile, vanquish Sivil's Staryu by means of utilizing the special assault we devoloped!" Everyone that was human looked at me in a confused look.

"Eliminate Staryu by making use of the unique offense we designed?" I said with simpler words. They still had a confused expression.

"Knock Staryu out with the supreme aggression we devised?" _They still were extremely dumfounded! _

"Huh?" Newin mumbled, scratching his head.

"YOU FOOLS! Totodile, attack Staryu with our special attack! Triple Swipe!" They all understood, since I _used words a kindergartner would use!_

"Triple Swipe?" May asked.

"A combination attack of..." I began to explain...

Totodile charged over to Staryu and slashed it three times...

"Fury Swipes..."

Totodile scraped his claws on Staryu's yellow body soon after...

"Scratch..."

And last, Totodile's claws began to glow in white light, and they slashed Staryu mercilessly.

"...And Slash."

Staryu fell on its face as Totodile returned to my side of the field.

"No, Staryu!" Sivil cried out.

"And now, Totodile, annihilate Machop with our Icy Water combination!"

"Icy Water?" May questioned.

"It's composed of..."

Totodile opened his mouth, from which a blast of blue water shot out at Machop, which caused damage to the Fighting Element.

"Water Gun, Surf, Waterfall, Hydro Pump, or Hydro Cannon..."

And then Totodile formed an icy blue sphere in its mouth, which thrust onto Machop in the form of a thunderbolt-shaped beam.

"...And Icy Beam, Icy Wind, or Blizzard."

The Ice Beam had crystallized Machop, which made him look like an ice statue.

"Our Pokemon!" Sivil and Newin exclaimed. They both growled, and then held out their Pokemon's Poke Balls. Machop and Staryu turned into red energy as a red beam streaked from the white button in the middle of their Poke Balls, and they were zapped inside.

"Well, you've fought enough to withstand our normal Pokemon..." Sivil smirked.

"But can you take these!" Newin shouted. They both threw out a Poke Ball.

"Go! Chinchou!" shouted Newin.

"You too, Natu!" yelled Sivil.

From two bursts of white energy appeared a Water/Electric and Psychic/Flying Elementals. Chinchou, the W/E, was a small blue creature with two anglerfish-like antennae with yellow "bags" at the end, two small blue fins, and yellow eyes with plus-shaped pupils. Natu was a very small bird with a yellow beak, a green circle-shaped body, a red head feather, a red tail, red talons with white claws, and two golden, red, and black design wings.

"Chinch-chou!" Chinchou cried out.

"Natu-na!" Natu squawked.

Suddenly, my green Shadow Monitor popped out. I had a feeling those two Pokemon were Shadows.

"Chinchou. Lv. 11. Water/ Electric Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON."

"Natu. Lv. 12. Psychic/ Flying Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON."

"Hmph. Those Shadow Pokemon are incompetent." I mumbled with a smirk on my face.

"You'll regret that!" Newin shouted at me angrily.

"Don't make me use large words you can't understand! Like, for example, lose-er." I taunted, making an anger cross pop up on Newin's head.

May's Eevee and my Totodile vs. CG Newin and Sivil's Chinchou and Natu

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Totodile, use your jaws and Crunch that little fish!" I ordered.

Totodile ran at Chinchou and chomped down on it with purple teeth.

"Ha-ha! You fell right into my trap, already!" Newin laughed. "Chinchou, Spark!"

"Hey! I thought Shadow Pokemon only knew Shadow Attacks!" May said.

"Guess again."

Chinchou's yellow things began glowing, and they released electrical energy onto Totodile!

"Ah! Totodile!" I cried, but then smirked. "Yeah, right. I figured you'd do that, Newin-boy. I know more about the Shadow Pokemon Plan than my numbskull partners!" Brendan and May glared at me.

"Totodile, use Water Gun!" I shouted.

Totodile, still chomping on Chinchou, released a blast of water from his mouth, but still held on to Chinchou!

"Huh?" Newin said.

After a few minutes, Chinchou couldn't take any more Water Gun/Crunch. He stopped using Spark, and got blast across the field into the wall.

"Alright! Poke Ball, let's do it!" I shouted, tossing a red-illuminated Poke Ball. In a flash of red light, Chinchou was sucked up into the Ball. It fell to the ground and shook thrice. _SHK-SHK. SHK-SHK. SHK-SHK. _

"One down..." I said.

"...One to go!" May added. "Eevee, use Fury Swipes, and then switch to Tackle!"

May's Eevee nodded from hearing its owner's command, and then charged toward Natu. Twice the bird was slashed, and then rammed. This caused Natu to wobble slightly. A few more hits and it could be Snagged!

"Natu! Attack with Shadow Wave!"

A black ball formed in Natu's beak, and then it branched out as two black dots. They whammed into both Totodile and Eevee, causing some damage, since there were two targets, making the power split.

"Ha! You're Shadow Pokemon is weak! Totodile, use Scratch!" I commanded.

Totodile danced over to Natu and scratched it with blue claws. (Well, it _is _a blue Pokemon...)

"Natu!" Sivil cried out. "I need some suggestions, Newin!" Sivil looked to the left and saw... Newin had high-tailed it outta there!

"Poor guy... Musta been too embarrassed to stick around cuz he, the imbecilic idiot he was, got KO'd before a female..." I said.

"Paaaaat..." May moaned.

"Grr...!" Sivil growled.

"And now... I shall conclude this battle before Sivil clobbers me in the head and May moans away her life! Totodile, use Seismic Toss!"

Totodile ran toward the Shadow Pokemon and grabbed it, and then flung Natu up into the air. He jumped up to Natu's level and slammed him into the ground, causing a loud _wham _to echo through the building. A small hole with dust coming out of it revealed Totodile and Natu, both seriously wobbling.

"Ah, Totodile! You're gonna be okay, just don't cry, PLEASE!" I cried out.

"Toto... Dah-hah!" Totodile grunted, giving me a fingers-up. Er, I mean thumbs-up.

"Alright! Now, go SNAG BALL!" As with Chinchou, Natu became red energy once touched by a Poke Ball in a red aura, and was sucked into the spherical body. With a literal three shakes of a Mareep's tail (You get it? Heh-heh...), its capture was clear! I also tossed Totodile its "reward": some special Water Pokemon food.

"HA! You got it! I CALL CHINCHOU!" May shouted, running by Natu's Poke Ball to grab the other one, which had been left on the field.

"Brendan, take Natu. I already have enough of these ridiculous Shadow Pokemon for the time being..." I mumbled, recalling Totodile as May did Eevee.

"Aww... But I wanted Chinchou..." Brendan moaned. He stuck out his lower lip and his eyes became puppy-dog version. "May, just because I love you _so _much, can we trade our Pokemon? Pwetty pwease?"

"No way, Brendan! That puppy dog look may have gotten some stuff outta me, but not this time."

"WAAAH-HAAAAH!" Brendan cried (Like a BIG BABY!).

"Come on, May and Baby Brendan! We gotta get to the top! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR USELESS WHIMPERING, CRYING, AND WHINING..." I roared...

"**_...will do us no good!_**"

"Pat... You're really mean, you know that?" Brendan frowned.

"Yeah, well whoop-de-do. Let's say I have a mean streak! Now, let's move on."

Brendan grumbled as he followed me through a stairwell.

'Wow... Pat can be cruel, cold, and cocky one minute and then sorta caring, calm, and collected...' May thought as she looked toward my turned back.

"Coming, May?" I asked, looking at her with one eye.

"Uh... Yeah, Pat!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

We were on the third floor, so I expected at least two or three Cipher Grunt attacks since there were a total of five, minus the roof.

I was just beginning to scope the ceiling when a male Grunt with blond hair ran up to us.

"HA! I found you!" he shouted.

"And who might you be, you sniveling snob?" I sneered. May and Brendan popped their heads from behind my back.

"I'm Cipher Grunt Todd, the last one you'll ever face! HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"Dude, you wish. I challenge you to a one on one battle! Are you... afraid? Perhaps you'd like to hand your Shadow Pokemon over now? Or will you take your beating like an imbecile?"

"WHY YOU! I'm an elite Grunt!"

"So? You're a Grunt. Not a Peon. Or Administrator. Or the leader. Just a little-skilled, little-experienced, little-_brained _Grunt in the ranks of Cipher. But there are no five ways around it..."

"Two." Brendan corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. I shall battle you." I drew a Poke Ball from my belt.

"Uh... Well, I only have one Pokemon. So, let the battle COMMENCE!" Todd shouted. (Sound familiar?)

"Time to kick some butt!" I shouted, throwing out the Poke Ball I clutched.

"Let's rock 'n roll, Aerodactyl!" I shouted. Aerodactyl appeared in front of me on the battlefield. But it was different... It didn't have an extremely hostile look on its face.

"Uh... Pat? Aerodactyl used ta' look..." May started to say.

"Antagonistic." I finished. "I purified it, getting rid of all hostile energy from being a Shadow Pokemon."

"Cool!"

'Yeah, but what _was _that bee-like thing I saw while the process occurred?' I pondered, my mind flashed back to the soothing yet exiting moment...

"Meet my Pokemon! Grimer!"

Todd tossed a Poke Ball, and in a flash of red light his Pokemon appeared. It was a big blob of purple sludge with eyes and a mouth, thus making it a clear Poison Element.

"Grim-er!" it grunted.

"RO-DAC-TYL!" Aerodactyl squawked loudly.

"Hmm... Since I'm facing a Poison Element... which..." I sniffed the air. "**_...ugh! _**Smells really bad... I need to take a defensive plan, since Poison is a physical-reliant Type, as well as maintaining an offensive strategy with projectile attacks such as Flamethrower, which of course Aerodactyl doesn't know." I said, trying to figure a strategy.

My visor slid out from my Snag Machine again. "Grimer. Lv. 12. Poison Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON."

"Let's go, people!" Todd yelled.

"FINE!"

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Aerodactyl vs. CG Todd's Grimer

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Aerodactyl, be careful." I cautioned. "Grimer may make you unconscious if you get too close to him and vice versa."

"Ro!" Aerodactyl nodded.

"We'll only use projectile attacks. So first, attack with Steel Wing! Just... Don't hit or go near Grimer."

"Huh?" May questioned, seeing how using a pure offensive attack without hitting a Pokemon would be useless.

"I get it..." Brendan said. "May, do you remember Winona's Skarmory?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, she did the same thing against me!" Brendan recalled when he was fighting Hoenn Gym Leader Winona. It was down to their last Pokemon, Winona's Skarmory vs. Brendan's Shelgon. (Now what would a Patinator Product inc. be without early Dragon usage, huh? I _am _Rayquaza's fan numero uno! (Number one))

(Brendan's POV)

"_Winona's Skarmory and my Shelgon had taken a little bit of damage. Since I used mostly pure physical attacks instead of Shelgon's Dragon moves, Winona ordered Skarmory to use Iron Defense and Steel Wing, the latter without hitting my Shelgon. I concluded then and there I had to use Special Attacks like Dragonbreath and Dragon Claw."_

(Regular POV)

"Oh yeah... Steel Wing sometimes heightens Defense!" May realized.

Meanwhile, my Skarmory... Uh... I mean Aerodactyl, had just flew up into the air with its wings encased in a metallic aura, and then flapped back down as the shine decreased. A small green circle came up from the ground and enveloped Aerodactyl, telling me my plan was successful!

"But why didn't Pat use another Defense move like Harden or Iron Defense?" May wondered.

"Aerodactyl doesn't know any other Defense-boosting moves, and can't learn them. I must admit, Pat's comin' along better than I was at this stage."

"Wow!" May cried out.

"WHAT! Did I miss something?"

"No, you were modest." A sweat drop appeared on Brendan's head, which bubbled a bit from "slight" anger...

"And now, Aerodactyl! Use Hidden Power!"

Aerodactyl began to glow in a white light, which suddenly flushed out of him into many white orbs, which danced around the Rock/Flying Element. With a shriek from Aerodactyl's mouth, the orbs spread out from the center point, AKA the aforementioned Pokemon, causing about three to hit Grimer. The other bashed into the walls, forming holes when they evaporated. A ring around the walls drawn with a flashy Pokemon attack... It sounded like a good Contest idea...

"Grimer! Use Sludge Bomb!" Todd shouted.

Purple gunk was seen coming into Grimer's mouth, which was spat out in Aerodactyl's direction as several gunky, slimy, stinky, purple, gooey ovals.

"Oh, right. That's so gonna hit me. Aerodactyl, Sandstorm!" I ordered.

Aerodactyl lowered its gray wings, and then jolted them up, giving him a spinning motion. A small sand tornado whipped up around Aerodactyl, deflecting Sludge Bomb.

The sandstorm also spread out across the field, taking bits off of Grimer's HP.

"Okay, Aerodactyl! That's enough!" I said. Aerodactyl ceased the dust storm, which left the field blanketed in sand. The purple sludge my opponent's Pokemon was gurgled up to the top.

'This reminds me of the deserts and dust storms back where I was born...' I thought, suddenly becoming reminiscent...

"Aerodactyl, ready for more?"

"Ro-ro-dactyl!"

"Okay! Use Hidden Power again!"

As before, my Fossil Pokemon began to glow with white light, which drained out of him into several white orbs. The spherical bodies launched from their "creator", you could say, and bashed into the walls and Grimer!

"Ha! Now use... Secret Power!" I shouted. A breath was drawn into Aerodactyl's large mouth, and he began to come down to the ground...

"STOP!" He stopped.

"Pat, what did you do that for?" May asked.

"Because of the sand field, Secret Power would be transformed into Earthquake or Magnitude, Ground moves."

"Connect the dots for me."

"Ugh... Gr-oun...DUH is su-per eeee-ffec-tiiive a-gains...TUH Poi-son... Did ya get that?" I mumbled.

"Uh... Yeah. Now say it without takin' thirty-three hours!"

"...Ground is super effective against Poison, OK? Back to the battle... Sheesh. Aerodactyl, use Whirlwind to blow away the sand!"

Aerodactyl spun around in midair, creating a small, regular tornado. It blew the sand to the left of the field, leaving the battlefield bare.

"And now use Rock Tomb!"

With a screech, Aerodactyl made rocks pop out from the ground, nearly fully encasing Grimer. Soon they disappeared, leaving Grimer with a decreased Accuracy stat and HP.

"Almost time..." I said softly.

"Grimer! It's time we show him... Shadow Punch!"

"Ooh... Scary. It's a Ghost attack, you idiot. Not a Shadow move."

"So?" Todd asked slyly. Grimer's fist began to glow in a shadowy color, rushed toward Aerodactyl at a surprising high speed, punched my Pokemon, and then returned to his side of the battlefield.

"Aerodactyl, you'll be okay." I said, seeing how Grimer scored a critical hit.

"Can you still fight?" I got a nod. The Rock/Flying-Type shook off some of the pain and put on its game head, or whatever you people say.

"Ha-ha-ha! Aerodactyl, use Rock Smash!"

Aerodactyl's wingtips glowed in a red-brown color. He slung them onto the ground, of course losing his aerial status, causing a small rut to slice its way toward Grimer. It was a Fighting attack, but it still brought Grimer down just enough, into the low-like yellows.

"Well, that's a wrap. Snag Ball, do your thing!" I yelled, throwing toward Grimer a Poke Ball with a red aura. The Shadow Pokemon was sucked up with red energy into the Ball, which fell from its aerial perch as it enclosed. With three of the famous-in-this-fic _SHK-SHKs_, the Pokemon had been Snagged.

"NO!" Todd growled. He ran off as I advanced toward the Poke Ball.

"May, I'll let you have it." I threw it to her with a spin motion.

"But... What about you? Brenda and I have two more."

"May... Don't call me Brenda..." Brendan groaned.

"Gee, I wonder where she got it from." I pondered in a sarcastic tone. I then chuckled. "I should be able to get more Shadow Pokemon here, May. But thank you for the concern. I don't care if you and _Brenda _have more. **_For now._**" I walked to the next portion of the third floor.

"Uh... Okay, Pat." May followed me.

"Hey, wait up will ya? **_AND DON'T CALL ME BRENDA!_**" Brendan yelled as he ran to catch up. A sweat drop appeared on May's and my head as May began to giggle softly. I, in turn, chuckled for a brief moment, with a smirk on my face and my eyes closed. (As usual.) I didn't often show signs of joy or humor, but I did anyway, probably because I was the one who began the "Brenda" craze, ha-ha!

PM: Okay, I know I haven't updated in about two months. Kill me now. But you understand why I had to cut this Chapter into a two-part adventure: I'M ALREADY AT 117 KILOBYTES! So, I bid you all farewell. **_For now._**


	6. Chapter 6

PM: I didn't wanna keep you all waiting with such supreme suspense you went mad, mad I say, **_MAD_**, so I made the next Chapter ASAP. Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

Delma Dilemma Pt. 2

We left off after I kicked Cipher Grunt Todd's butt and grabbed his Shadow Grimer. With May and Brendan following my lead, we soon came upon... another Grunt, a female with flowing chestnut hair.

"HA! I have the targets in my sights!" she exclaimed.

"Put a shoe in it. Just tell us your name, battle, and run away." I said in a rushing tone, crossing my arms.

"NEVER interrupt a lady!"

"But you're only an idiotic Cipher Grunt who probably couldn't even create a scheme if your life depended on it."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, AND SHUT UP! I am here to battle one a' ya, Mr. High and Mighty Man!"

"NOW IT'S TIME FOR _YOU TO **SHUT UP!**_" I yelled as an anger cross popped up on my head.

"GRR! ...Um, I shall battle the girl. And don't call me any funny names, got it? The name is Toddette."

'Huh, that and Todd's name remind me of two characters of a certain franchise back home...' I thought.

"Oh, you wanna battle me, do you? Well, you'd better prepare for this battle, Toddette!" May antagonized.

The two females walked a large space from each other, and they both pulled out a Poke Ball from their belt/hip pouch.

"You ready?" May asked.

"Oh, of course! And now... Let's show 'em whatcha got, Magnemite!" Toddette threw her Poke Ball.

With a burst of white light appeared a Magnemite, a Steel/Lightning-Type with two gray u-shaped magnets with red over blue and vise versa tips attached to a silver spherical body with one large, black-pupil eye.

"Mag-ne-mite..." it droned in a computer-like voice.

"I choose you, Kabuto!" May shouted.

In another flash of light appeared Kabuto.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two battle with no substitutions or time limit.

May's Kabuto vs. CG Toddette's Magnemite

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Kabuto, start with Harden!" May said.

Kabuto's yellow legs retracted into its brown shell as a line of metallic coloring came across the shell, boosting Kabuto's Defense status.

"And now use Shadow Blitz!"

Kabuto detracted its arms and used them to jump toward Magnemite. He began to glow in a purple aura as the connection was made. While it was super effective, Magnemite's slightly high Defense reduced the damage slightly.

"Nice try, May! Magnemite, Thunderbolt!"

At the tip of Magnemite's magnets appeared a yellow spark of electricity, which burst out at Kabuto in the form of two lightning bolts. They joined to form a thicker one.

"Kabuto! Dodge!" May cried. Kabuto used its legs to hop inches away from the Thunderbolt's target site. A black splotch appeared on the zapped piece of ground.

"Now use Shadow Blitz again!"

Glowing in a dark aura, Kabuto rammed into its Electric/Steel foe again, which, regardless of Defensive powers, knocked it out!

"Aw, yeah!" May cheered. "Congratulations, Kabuto!"

"Ka-bu!"

"Hmph..." Toddette grunted as she recalled her fallen Pokemon. From the Poke Ball's center shot a red energy beam. When Magnemite, whose eye had turned swirly, was touched by it, he became red energy, and was withdrawn into the sphere's confinements.

"Well, you beat Magnemite, but can you beat my other Pokemon! Let's go, Voltorb!" Toddette tossed out a Poke Ball, and with a flash, appeared on the field a much larger Poke Ball with angry, large eyes, without the center dot.

My antennae and the attached visor came out from my Snag Machine, and flipped in front of my eyes.

"Voltorb. Level 13. Electric Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON." it said.

'Awesome! An all-out offensive Shadow Pokemon!' I thought.

"Okay... You got the Snag Machine ready, Pat?" May asked.

"Oh, yeah!"

"Then let's battle!"

May's Kabuto vs. CG Toddette's Voltorb

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"I'll start this. Voltorb, use Shadow Rush!"

Just like when Blitz is used, Voltorb became illuminated in a dark purple color. Only this time, a clear dark expression was on its face as it bashed into Kabuto, causing some damage, as it was more powerful than Shadow Blitz.

'Ooh... I love this... Especially Voltorb's face... Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh...' I thought as a smirk appeared on my face.

"Kabuto!" May cried out when she saw her Pokemon hurt. "Can you still battle?" Kabuto nodded its head/shell weakly.

"Okay, then. Use Shadow Blitz again!"

Kabuto became illuminated like Voltorb only seconds ago, minus the _evil _expression as he slammed into Voltorb. Kabuto was lucky that moment, as he scored a critical hit. This brought Voltorb down to the low greens.

"Voltorb, Spark!"

Voltorb, with Kabuto still near him, became illuminated in an electric yellow color, and sparks began to flow from him. He rammed into Kabuto, causing his HP to drop to the lower yellows.

"Kabuto!" May shrieked.

"Now, Voltorb, finish it with your Sonicboom!"

Even without a mouth, Voltorb stirred up a sonic boom, causing small, white waves to hit Kabuto. Even though it was a Normal attack vs. a Rock Element, it did a good 20 points of damage as usual, knocking Kabuto out.

"Oh... Return Kabuto." May said, pulling out a Poke Ball. From it shot a red beam of energy, which connected to the fallen Pokemon and sucked him inside.

"Let's go, Chinchou!" May shouted as she threw out another Poke Ball.

In a flash of light materialized May's Water/Electric Element, Chinchou.

"YEE! But it's part Water, May!" Brendan screamed.

"Brendan, don't forget that it's part Electric as well. Besides, May, well, _may _have a plan..." I mumbled quietly.

"Oh, sure."

May's Chinchou vs. CG Toddette's Voltorb

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Chinchou, Shadow Blitz!"

May's Chinchou became illuminated in a dark aura and charged Voltorb. The attack barely scratched it.

"Voltorb, Shadow _Rush_!"

Voltorb became illuminated in the same color (again) and slammed into Chinchou with an evil expression.

Chinchou Blitzed mercilessly in retaliation to Voltorb's Rushes, and vice versa, as Brendan and I discussed May's situation.

"Do ya think there's any way May (Heh-heh.) can get outta this, Brendan?" I asked.

"I'm not sure..."

"Well, _I do_..."

"Ya do?" Brendan queried.

"Yes... But it requires this item I got from... uh... Someone... It can be put on humans to make 'em look good, but I never wore it. It doubles the power of Shadow moves like Shadow Blitz for the holder." I held up a dark amethyst colored neckerchief and threw it at May. It floated to her, more likely and curled around her neck...

"Huh?" May's eyes widen as she saw a moving piece of cloth. "AAAAAAAHHHH! WILD PIECE OF CLOTH! HELP!" she screamed.

"MAY! Get a hold of yourself you fool!" Brendan bonked me in the head with a cartoony mace. (It was a blow-up weapon. No actual _maces _were harmed during the process of making this fic.) (In other words, I broke it.)

"May, tie that around Chinchou's neck! It doubles Shadow attack power!"

May did so. She ran to Chinchou and tied the neckerchief, increasing Chinchou's power... well, two-fold. What else?

"Chinchou..." May started to say as she ran back to her spot. "Use Shadow Blitz!"

Chinchou, with a dark aura, rammed into Voltorb for the 52nd time or so. Only this time, everyone could see it did a lot more damage.

"Voltorb is weak enough. It's now ready for capture. Go! Snag Ball!" I yelled. I threw (How exiting. This is only the 12th time you've read this.) a Poke Ball with a red glow at the Poke Ball-shaped Pokemon. Voltorb was drawn in with red light, and the Ball fell to the ground. With three shakes and three _SHK-SHK_s, it was locked inside. May withdrew her Chinchou and grabbed Voltorb's new home.

"I'll take it!" Brendan cried. He leapt over me and snatched the Ball from May's hands... Or tried to. She simply just turned to the left, making Brendan fall on the ground.

"May... Gimme! I want it! And my nose hurts! WAAAAH!" Brendan whined. He sounded like a silly baby...

"Must we go through this again, Brendan?" I asked impatiently. "May, give him the Poke Ball and he'll shut his mouth."

I began to walk up the next flight of stairs. May finally gave Brendan the Ball, so he cooed like a baby. What I would've given for a **_tranquilizer gun! _**

"COME ON, YOU INSOLENT INGRATES! I HAVE NO TIME FOR YOUR RIDICULOUS FOOLISHNESS!" I yelled.

"Comin' Pat..." May moaned. Brendan followed his girlfriend to me.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was the fourth floor, and I didn't happen to see any entity in the foresaid premises. So we three walked toward the stairs with much glee, but then a male Cipher Peon with a yellow neckerchief came down to obviously battle me, and I've put in the "e" sound in this sentence too much, do you agree?

"Guess who's back!" the Peon called out.

"Oh, great... Naps, whaddya want now?" I asked. (You couldn't tell, could ya? I bet you couldn't!)

"Well, duh. I want to get your Shadow Pokemon! If I do, I get to keep my butt in Cipher's ranks, and may become an Admin! I'll also earn some respect from my sister!"

'Hmph... Like anyone could get respect from her... _Except me, **unfortunately!**_' I thought as I recalled events at the Cipher lab... I then switched to speech:

"Let's battle for the final time, I hope!"

"Well, Pat, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. You see, I won't battle; I shall force you three to cough up all of your Shadow Pokemon and give them to me."

"Forget it, needle head." Brendan said.

"Well, then... I shall enforce what I said." Naps began to throw out a Poke Ball.

"Wait, stop! We'll settle this with a battle, otherwise _you _won't get the Shadow Pokemon, and _I_..." B and M glared at me. "Uh... _We _won't get **_a bunch a' bruises!_**"

"Oh, fine. Y'know, Pat, you would be a fine Cipher member. You always want to battle. And your strength puts you in an Admin position. So whaddya say? Would you join Team Cipher and _so _quit the hero lifestyle?" A grin spread across Naps' lips.

"Uh..." I said. Beads of sweat rolled down my head as I began to... _stick out my hand _to seal the deal with a handshake...

"Pat...!" May and Brendan cried out in shock.

I grabbed Naps' hand in a handshake as my hair shadowed my eyes...

"Well, Pat! You're an official Cipher Member!" Naps declared.

A smirk plastered on my face as I...

**_...crunched Naps' hand and flung him up the stairs. _**(You really think I'd turn out to be evil? Oh, wait... I am. HA-HA-HA-HA! But not in that Cipher way.)

"You really think I'd be fool enough to say yes to that Naps?" I asked as my eyes became un-shadowed.

"Yes." Naps groaned. He was slumped over on the stair case.

"Oh, really? Well, now you know." I walked a distance away.

"I told you he wouldn't do that, May." Brendan whispered.

"Aw, ya did not!"

"QUIET!" I shouted. "As we say in the biz... _It's time to battle!_"

I tossed out two Poke Balls and with a blast of white light appeared Totodile and Gastly.

"Oh, tough guy. NOT! Let's go, Magby and Elekid!"

From two Great Balls, Poke Balls with blue tops and two red crests, appeared in a bluish-white light a pair of baby Pokemon. One was the Fire Element Magby, which had several red bouncy things on its head, three white claws on each hand and two on the feet, a black neck, a yellow beak/cone-shaped mouth, a red tail, and a yellow flame pattern on its belly. The other was Electric Elekid, a yellow Pokemon with black stripes on its arms, a black thunderbolt and a line on its belly, small oval-shaped feet, three white claws on the hands, which were patterned to mimic a three-pronged electrical plug, and the classic two-pronged plug-shaped head.

"Oh, how cute!" May squealed.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limits.

My Totodile and Gastly vs. CP Naps' Magby and Elekid

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Before anyone could move, my visor came out of the Snag Machine. The white cursor on the screen hovered over to Magby.

"Magby. Level 16. Fire Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Shed and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON."

'All right; another Rusher!' I thought. But then the circular cursor went over to Elekid!

"Elekid. Level 16. Electric Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON!"

'And another all-out offensive!' I switched to speech.

"Okay, this will get interesting. Totodile, start off with..." I felt something clinging to my leg. It was... you'll never believe this... Totodile. How totally unobvious!

"Totodile, please battle..." He shook his blue head. "Oh, c'mon... You're the strongest Pokemon I have, and you won't battle..." I resorted to bribery. Yes, I can't believe I stooped so low either... OH, THE SHAME!

"Totodile, I'll give you some more food if you battle. Plus, if you win, as if you won't, a lesson in using your Water powers to the maximum."

"Toto... Dah..." Totodile nodded.

"Okay, then." He wobbled back to his position. "Totodile, start off with Crunch! Attack Elekid now!"

Totodile ran toward Elekid with teeth glaring in a purple color.

"Elekid, dodge that!"

Elekid, hearing Naps' cry, hopped out of Totodile's path before getting bitten. But Totodile and I had a back-up plan. I mean, that move was so obvious.

"Scratch, Totodile!"

Totodile's teeth returned to the right color, and then he slashed his way toward Elekid with his sharp fingers. Elekid was cornered, so the attack succeeded.

"Agh!" Naps cried out.

"And now, Gastly! Use Psywave on Magby!"

Gastly's half-circle eyes began to glow in a purple color as many blue circles appeared in front of Gastly. They rushed out at Magby in a wavy motion, and then hit.

"No!" Naps cried again.

"What's the matter, Naps? I thought Pokemon were just tools for battling?" I taunted, smirking.

"SHUT UP! Magby, use Ember and Elekid, attack with Thundershock!"

Magby began to blow out from its yellow cone-shaped beak small orange circles of fire, which shot toward Gastly. Elekid, on the other hand, (Oh, now this is gonna be funny.) spun its arms and _hands _(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! OH, I'M A RIOT! OR NOT!) around to generate electricity, which was transferred to Elekid's plug-shaped head. Two sparks of yellow electricity appeared on the tips of the prongs, which shot out as two thin lightning bolts toward Totodile.

"Oh, right. Like those are gonna hit me. Totodile, get in front of Gastly and use Protect!"

Totodile appeared in front of my ghostly Gastly and put his arms in an X pattern. A golden shield illuminated from them, deflecting both Ember and Thundershock. Protect faded soon after.

"Great, Totodile! Now use Water Gun!"

Totodile opened its mouth and a blast of water shot out, aimed at Elekid.

"And Gastly, use Psywave!"

Gastly's eyes became blue again, creating circles of psychic energy to wave out toward Magby. Water Gun and Psywave hit their marks, bringing the targets' HP to the yellows...

"Well... Here we go! C'mon, Snag Ball number one!" I shouted. I threw out a Great Ball illuminated with red light from my "Snagger" hand at Elekid, who was vacuumed into the spherical body. The Great Ball, now on the ground, shook three times and stopped.

"Ha! Snagged it!" I cheered. My Snag Machine began to glow slightly, meaning it was charging its energy for the next Ball. I had to make a move.

"Gastly! Use Shadow Blitz!"

Gastly became surrounded by darkness, and then slammed into Magby. The attack caused little damage.

"Magby, use Shadow Rush!"

Magby's focused look became a dark expression as he began to glow with a dark aura. He tackled Totodile, causing heavy damage.

"Totodile! Are you okay?" I called out, seeing Totodile fall to its knees. It got back up and nodded.

"Okay, then. In that case... Snag Ball #2, capture that Magby!"

I threw another Great Ball with a red aura, only this time Magby was sucked up. After, you guessed it, three shakes and _SHK-SHK_s, it was clear I Snagged it!

"And there's number two." I saw that Naps had run off when he saw his Pokemon had been Snagged, so I had no trouble walking over to Elekid and Magby's new "homes" and picked them up.

"Alright. I shall be keeping Elekid. Who desires Magby?" I asked. Totodile and Gastly ran/floated up to me.

"Um... I do." May said. I tossed her the Ball.

"Very well. Brendan, _no **whining!**_"

"I won't whine this time!"

"Good. Now, let's proceed. Only one floor remains between us and the top floor... And the more I think about this place's floor arrangements, the more it reminds me of a certain place in Hoenn..."

"Really? What?" Brendan asked from behind me.

Recalling my Pokemon, I replied:

"Oh, uh, nowhere. Just thinking aloud, Brendan. Let's go." We walked up the next-to-final set of stairs to the fifth floor.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The final indoor floor of Delma Pillar was the same dirt-colored place like the others.

"Nothin' special here." Brendan mumbled.

"Yeah... For once, Brendan, you're correct. There's not a soul in sight that is interesting, unless _I _look in a mirror." I said, cracking a smirk.

"Oh, how true, Pat." he said sarcastically.

"BUT THEN THERE'S ME!" boomed a loud voice. I saw a shadow moving down the stairs, so I expected the worse: the boss of this place.

The person came down, and we saw he was... very large. Instead of regular Grunt or Peon clothing, he wore a white one-piece, triangle-ish topped suit that looked like armor with light blue fingered metal gloves and large metal shoes, a blue cape (At which my eyes popped out at.), a blue Cipher neckerchief. Last was a helmet that had two horns on the side, black eye slits, black holes for breathing, and black lines for the mouth, which lit up with red when the person talked, all colored light blue. The suit/armor had a black **C **on it.

"Boy, are you lost." I said to the large man. He had very big muscles that could be seen from his armor's arms.

"I am Gunnar." he said. He had a British-like accent, making his name sound like "Gonna".

"Gonna what? Go to a Viking convention at the civics center?" I asked. (Well, he had a Viking look!)

"I and Cipher are here to conquer this world!"

"No ya won't."

"Yes... we... will."

"No ya won't!"

"Yes we will!" he said in a taunting voice.

"Yes you will." I said back.

"NO WE WON'T CONQUER THIS WORLD!"

"Have it your way."

"Ooh, I will enjoy crushing you, boy!"

"Oh, yeah. Like that's ever gonna happen. I'm afraid you and Cipher will hafta pack your bags and go, 'cause this is a "No-Invasion" zone."

By now May and Brendan were laughing their heads off.

"YOU DARE!" Gunnar shouted at them.

"Uh... Yes?" Brendan answered, then hid behind May.

"THAT'S IT! I, Cipher Peon Gunnar, am fed up with your insolence! I challenge you to a battle!" Gunnar pointed at me.

"Oh, boy..." I mumbled. I don't want to say it, but I didn't want to battle. Gunnar stretched his body to pull into the scene a gold and black phonograph, and he put a disk on, then played it.

"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA..." Gunnar started to laugh. But then he noticed the lyrics...

_...F-G... _

_H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P... _

_Q-R-S... _

_T-U-V..._

_W-X..._

_Y and Z..._

_Now you know your ABC's..._

_Next time won't you sing with..._

Gunnar had been looking at the phonograph, and then stopped it, flipped it around, and played it again. It was dramatically evil music, which... I liked.

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Gunnar laughed evilly.

"Hey, buddy: that's _my job._" I said. I took out a Great Ball and tossed it out, and Elekid erupted from it with a white burst of energy.

"Elekid!" it cried out as electricity zapped between its prongs.

"Okay, here we go!" Gunnar shouted as he pushed the phonograph out of sight.

"I choose you Snorunt!" He threw a Poke Ball.

With a flash of white light appeared Snorunt, an Ice Element with tiny blue eyes, a large, white grin, and a black body covered in an orange coat-like object, which was rather pointy, clutched by small circular hands.

"Sn-o-o-o-runt!" it shivered.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Elekid vs. CP Gunnar's Snorunt

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Snorunt, begin this battle with Icy Wind!"

Snorunt opened its cone-shaped coat and blew out a concentrated icy cold wind, littered with hail, snow, and sleet.

"Elekid, deflect that with Thundershock!"

Elekid spun its arms to generate electricity, and then shot from its prongs a bolt of electricity toward the Icy Wind. The two attacks collided, causing a small explosion. Once the black smoke cleared, the two Pokemon were ready for their next orders.

"Snorunt, Headbutt!" Gunnar ordered.

Snorunt jumped toward Elekid with its body pointed so the pointed top was the first to hit Elekid. The attack succeeded, so Snorunt ceased its "flight".

"Perfect! Elekid, Shadow Blitz!"

Elekid, seeing its target hobbling over to Gunnar, became illuminated with purple light, and then tackled Snorunt, causing more damage than Headbutt had previously.

"Snorunt, Ice Beam that Elekid!"

A pale blue ball formed in front of Snorunt's mouth, which soon shot out in the form of a thunderbolt-style beam. Elekid was so close, the attack was critical, bringing him down to the low yellows in HP. However, I had one last trick up my shirt or whatever.

"Elekid... SHADOW RUSH NOW!"

Elekid became illuminated with purple again, only this time a dark expression appeared on its face. Another ram into Snorunt caused the Ice-Type to faint. It fell to the ground and rolled on its coat.

"Return!" Gunnar growled, thrusting out Snorunt's Ball. A red beam of light zapped out from the center circle and tapped Snorunt, making it become the same red energy. The beam withdrew Snorunt into the Poke Ball.

"Here's number two: Cloyster!"

Gunnar threw out another Poke Ball. From a flash of light erupted Cloyster, a Water/Ice dual mix with a purple pearl for a head with devious black eyes and a smirk with a light purple horn sticking outward above it, in a purple wave-edged clamshell inside a much larger one. The outmost shell had several bumps protruding from its surface, with some having a rounded of point, others being small. A clam "tail" was at the back.

"Cloyster..." Cloyster growled in a deep voice.

"Elek..." Elekid said in a slightly panicked voice. It saw its opponent was much bigger than it...

"Don't worry Elekid. That thing will fall if hit with a few Electric attacks." I said.

"Elekid..."

My Elekid vs. CP Gunnar's Cloyster

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Elekid, you start this time! Shadow Rush!"

Elekid's look became evil as well as the dark energy around him. He tackled Cloyster, causing a super effective hit. But barely any damage had been done!

"No way! That Cloyster must have good Defense to resist Shadow Rush!" Brendan gasped.

"Nice try! I've boosted Cloyster's Defensive power with items and stuff, making physical attacks petty! Now, taste his Icicle Spear!"

The larger spikes on Cloyster's shell became light blue as several sharp icicles shot from them. They hit once... twice... and three times. The Ice Element attack was weak with one shot, but stronger with three, meaning Elekid... was KO'd!

"No, Elekid!" I cried out as I saw Elekid fall on its side. I pulled out its Ball and recalled it, drawing it back with a beam of light.

"Okay... Elekid did well, but now it's time for _my _#2: Gastly!"

From a Poke Ball thrown from my hand appeared Gastly.

"Gastly..." it moaned.

My Gastly vs. CP Gunnar's Cloyster

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, use Shadow Blitz repeatedly!" I ordered.

Gastly began to glow in a purple aura as he slammed into Cloyster several times. Each time about less than 3 HP was taken off, so pretty soon Gastly was tired out. From all the Blitzes and Elekid's Rush, only about one fourth of Cloyster's HP was missing.

"HA-HA-HA-HA! YOU FOOL! I told you that physical might would do you no good! HA-HA-HA!" Gunnar cackled.

"Oh, man... Pat's in a tight spot..." May whispered worriedly as Gunnar laughed his evil techno-Viking head off.

"Yeah... Cloyster had three weaknesses, disregarding Types. They are its low Special Defense and low HP and Speed. Since Pat doesn't have a Grass or Electric Element besides Elekid, winning this battle's gonna be tough..." Brendan replied softly. "I mean, other Special attacks would work..."

"Gunnar... Cloyster's reign of terror ends here. For now, Gastly, use Giga Drain!" I yelled.

"What!" Gunnar cried.

"WHAT!" May and Brendan shrieked.

It was true; a green energy ball formed in front of Gastly and Cloyster. Several balls of energy formed around Cloyster, and they sped into the bigger ball, causing Cloyster to cry out in pain as half of the deducted HP with Giga Drain healed Gastly. Of course, being super effective... it KO'd Cloyster.

"Way to go, Gastly!" I cheered, watching Gunnar growl in frustration as he recalled his fallen Ice/Water Pokemon.

"That's enough... It's time to bring out the BIG GUNS! While I am an Ice trainer, Cipher gave me this Pokemon!" Gunnar roared, throwing out a Great Ball with extreme speed.

With a flash of bluish-white light appeared a Pokemon with yellow mouse-like creature with long yellow ears that had black-colored tips, red circular markings on its cheek under its deep hued colored eyes, and a lighting-shaped tail with brown markings at the start of the tail.

"Meet Pikachu!" Gunnar shouted.

"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu cried out.

"Wow... That's a cute Pokemon." Brendan said.

"It reminds me of a friend of mine's Pokemon... But I hope it isn't a..."

My visor shot up from the shoulder piece of my Snag Machine.

"Oh, great." Brendan slapped his head.

"Pikachu. Level 17. Electric Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON."

"Hmm... An Electric Element vs. Gastly... This could get tough..." I mumbled.

My Gastly vs. GP Gunnar's Pikachu

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, try a Psywave!"

Gastly's eyes began to glow blue, and with psychic power, Gastly formed tons of blue energy rings, which rushed toward Pikachu in a wavy motion.

"Pikachu, dodge that!"

Pikachu dashed out of Psywave's path with time to spare, so the Psychic attack simply dissipated.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu stood on its hind legs as his red cheek pouches began to spark! Soon several long, jagged, and wide lightning bolts flew out from Pikachu's proximity toward Gastly. The Electrical attack hit, causing massive damage to my Ghost Element.

'C'mon... Think, think, think... How am I gonna get outta this?' I thought.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!" Gunnar taunted.

"Oh, shut up! Just move, already!"

"Fine. Pikachu, end this with Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu became surrounded by thunderbolts again, which blasted Gastly, KO'ing him...

"Sorry, Gastly... Return!" I shouted, holding out Gastly's Poke Ball. He was zapped back into his home to rest...

'Down to my last Pokemon...' I thought. 'Which one...? I don't have Ground Elements, and Aerodactyl would be destroyed by Shadow Rush... I have Totodile left if Aerodactyl is out, but then... AW, I'M JUST GOING TO GRAB A BALL AND GO!'

"I choose you, whichever one you are!"

I threw a Poke Ball and Aerodactyl appeared on the field!

"Well, there we go."

"R-r-r-r-rodactyl!" Aerodactyl screeched.

"Hmm... This might be interesting..." Gunnar sneered sarcastically.

"Oh, contain it!"

"_CAN_ IT!" May corrected.

"Can what? I don't see any corn or peas or yams!"

"AUGH!" May and Brendan groaned, both falling anime style.

My Aerodactyl vs. CP Gunnar's Pikachu

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Pikachu, use Shadow Rush!"

Pikachu charged toward my Aerodactyl with a dark smirk on its face, illuminated with purple light.

"Aerodactyl, Agility!"

Aerodactyl, hearing my command, flew towards Pikachu, only to disappear with a flap of its wings and reappear by Gunnar. Pikachu's attack missed, _and_ Aerodactyl's Speed stat was raised.

"Oh, yes! Now use Wing Attack!"

Aerodactyl's wings began to glow white, and with a powerful dive, he slammed them into Pikachu, causing some damage, since Flying was weak to Electric.

"Oh, pshaw. Use Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"

The little mouse Pokemon's cheeks flashed with electricity, and it sent a bolt of lightning toward the still close Aerodactyl.

"Aerodactyl!" I cried. "Dodge with Agility again!"

Aerodactyl saw the oncoming attack and vanished into thin air with a wing flutter. He soon reappeared with a further increased Speed stat by me, this time.

"Pikachu, don't miss again! Attack now! With... Shadow Rush!"

Pikachu's body became illuminated with dark energy again as a smirk plastered upon its face.

'Man, I LOVE THAT EVIL GRIN!' I thought.

My Electrical and sometimes _shocking _opponent dashed at Aerodactyl and hit, taking its HP down a bit.

"Aerodactyl, you can do this! Use..."

The battle came to a small stand still...

"Hmm..." May and Brendan said.

"Hm!" Gunnar scoffed.

"...IRON TAIL NOW!" echoed my voice.

Aerodactyl's tail began to glow in a faint metallic color. He flew over to Pikachu and landed its tail upon him, causing some dust to rise up.

When the dust cleared from the field, Gunnar and I saw Aerodactyl was fine, but Pikachu? It was close to being KO'd!

"Okay! Go Snag Ball! Do your thing!" From my Snag arm, I threw an illuminated Great Ball, which sucked up Pikachu with a red light. It shook three times, and then the locking mechanism activated!

"And... that's a wrap." I said smugly.

"Oh no! I can't lose! NO!" Gunnar screamed. He ran off so quickly he dropped his cloak.

"Ooh..." I said as I picked it up, after getting Pikachu's Poke Ball. "I like it. I suppose it shall do for now... But when we go to the next big city, I'm buyin' a cloak!" I put the blue cloth over my shoulder, and I asked for May and Brendan's opinion.

"I like your look, Pat." May said.

"Very cool. So... You keepin' Pikachu?" Brendan asked.

"But of course! AND THEN I SHALL CONQUER THIS WORLD! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" I laughed. It was a mocking version of Gunnar's voice.

The others giggled, and then we went up the stairs to the roof... Where the boss was...

0o0o0o0o0o0

We had made it to the roof of Delma Pillar... And looked up to see a staircase. May and Brendan led me up there. (Hey, I need bodyguards!)

The wind was rather strong here. Some rocks on the floor had flew across to one side! But enough about that. A gruff, booming voice broke our concentration:

"So, you are here!"

I looked behind us to see a man who had... um... large red hair spiked up like a Super Saiyan (I know nothing about Dragon Ball GT or Z or regular. I just, uh, looked up Giga Bowser of Super Smash Bros. Melee and he was described as having Super Saiyan hair, along with a picture as proof.) and red marks on his face. His clothing was a white jumpsuit-like thing with strips of cloth on the bottom of the pants around the feet, which were bare, with gold marks on it in places. It all bulged out where his muscles were, which were large. A blue piece of cloth was around his waist, and a Poke Ball necklace was around his neck. Oh, and did I mention he was... _Enormous? Gigantic? TITANIC?_

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Brendan screamed in a girly manner, hiding behind his romantic partner.

"Ah, what are you scared of? A weird, muscle bound guy who probably has air in his suit?" I said, looking at Brendan from the corner of my eye.

"Oh, yeah... That's right! HA-HA! You don't scare me, you evil butt man!" Brendan walked up to the large man and started poking his muscles.

"You don't scare me, Mister Big, I'm-So-Big doo-doo head! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-ha-ha-ha-ha..." Brendan's laughter died off as he realized the muscles were real, and met the cold, angry, and merciless stare of...

"YOU DARE MAKE FUN OF ME, THE GREAT CIPHER ADMIN DAKIM!" he boomed.

Brendan screamed once more and hid behind May again.

"Grr, his is such a wimp!" Dakim growled.

"Believe me, I know." I agreed, getting beside him.

"Really? So, how do you work with incompetents?"

"WE'RE NOT INCOMPETENTS!" May and Brendan shouted.

"Yes, you are." Dakim and I said back.

"Hey, this is getting totally twisted!" May cried, seeing a Cipher Admin and me agreeing.

"She's right." Dakim said.

"Oh, now don't go siding with _me!_" May said.

By now, I had walked over to my incompetent comrades. "So, Dakim, you wanna battle or... battle?" I cocked an eye brow.

"Um... I'll battle. No, wait! I'm gonna battle. Or... No, maybe battling would be better?"

"WOULD YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND?"

"ARGH! TASTE MY PURE POWER!" Dakim shouted, disliking the fact I yelled at him. "You defeated my apprentice Gunnar, but not me!"

"If the teacher's student is that weak... Yes... we... will." I said, sounding like Gunnar.

"GRR! THAT'S IT! I CHOOSE YOU TWO, ARON AND DONPHAN!"

Dakim threw two Poke Balls into the air (VERY high.) and with a burst of light appeared an Aron.

"Arrr-on!" it growled.

Beside it appeared a Donphan, a Ground Element with an elephant-like body. It had a black back and tail with three bumps at regular intervals, as well as ear-like objects and a truck-like tip, white tusks popping out of its face, a slate-colored body, white clawed-feet, and black rings around its legs.

"Do-phan!" it cried out.

"By the way, this is gonna be a six-on-six battle." Dakim said.

"...Ooh. I don't have that many Pokemon, Dakim. Um... _Brenda! _I need some much appreciated assisting!" I shouted.

"Don't call me Brenda! I'll help you if you don't call me that anymore today!" Brendan walked up to help me with the battle.

"Fine. I guess I'll stop calling you that for good..."

"GYACK! Really? YIPPEE!" Brendan screamed gleefully. Don't think his annoyance with stop here though... Mwee-hee-hee-hee-hee...

"Just throw your Balls!" Dakim roared.

"Okay, okay, D." Brendan mumbled.

"D?" I asked with a dull look.

"Never mind... Let's go, Anorith!" Brendan tossed a Poke Ball out and his Anorith materialized.

"Nor-or!" it grunted.

"Now it's my turn... Come forth, my Gastly!" I shouted, tossing Gastly's Ball. The foresaid Pokemon appeared in its usual floating position.

"Gastly..." Gastly moaned. That's when I noticed a red aura around it... Reverse Mode!

"Oh, great." I moaned, slapping my head. "Reverse Mode!"

"Isn't that good? It'll help Purification." Brendan said.

"Oh, yeah."

Battle statistics: This is a six-on-six double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Gastly and Brenda's (AGH!), er, Brendan's Anorith vs. Cipher Admin Dakim's Donphan and Aron

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"All right, Anorith! Start this thing with Shadow Blitz!" Brendan ordered.

Anorith's scorpion-like body became surrounded with purple energy as the creature rammed into Donphan, causing some serious damage.

Since Gastly was in Reverse Mode, I decided to call it.

"GASTLY!" I shouted.

"Ga-gas?" Gastly moaned, shaking its body. The red aura dissipated as Gastly became one more step to being purified... Just a little while longer...

"Pitiful! Donphan, Earthquake!" Dakim roared.

Donphan stood up on its hind legs and when it came down, it slammed the ground, causing a powerful orange-brown wave of energy to rise up and come toward Gastly Anorith, and Aron quickly.

"That big, bumbling idiot! He'll KO his own Pokemon and he won't scratch yours, Pat, because of its Levitate ability!" Brendan called to me. However, I wasn't so sure...

'Hmm... I don't think he'll do that, Brendan.' I thought, remembering a Cipher Admin from Pokemon XD and Dakim's strategy from Pokemon Colosseum.

"Now, Aron, Protect attack!"

"I knew it!"

Just in time, Aron formed a golden shield around itself that protected it from the super effective and powerful Earthquake. Nevertheless, Anorith wasn't so lucky... It took a lot of damage, being a Rock-Type. While the Bug-Type part helped cover, it still didn't perfect the resistance.

"Take that!" Dakim roared as his throat filled with deep, raucous laughter.

"Easily beaten." Brendan growled.

"Oh, really? You mean by ME!" I shouted.

"No, me."

"I!"

"Me."

"**_I!_**" I snarled.

"Would you two just hush?" May yelled at us, getting annoyed.

"Wait, we need a male-bonding moment." Brendan said.

"OH, YOU IDIOT! THAT'S IT! GASTLY, SHOW YOUR WRATH WITH SHADOW BLITZ!" I yelled loudly. An anger cross popped up on my head as I glared daggers, swords, and knives at Brendan.

Gastly charged at Donphan with a purple-surrounded body. The attack was super effective as usual.

"Anorith, you too!"

Anorith tackled Donphan with a purple aura as well, causing some more damage. Overall, the Ground Element's HP had dipped into the low yellows.

"Oh, yeah, tiny tot? Short stuff? Small shrivel?" our opponent taunted.

"HEY! Using same-first-lettered insults are MY OCCUPATION!" I growled at Dakim.

'Sheesh, can he lose his temper...' May sighed in her mind.

"Oh, whatever. Aron, your turn to Earthquake! Donphan, Protect when ready!"

Aron raised up its legs and came down, thrusting a wave of tectonic energy to spread across the field. It hit Anorith, went under Gastly, and went toward Donphan, who used Protect and formed a golden blockage. That part of the wave was eliminated once it hit the shield.

"Hmph, we'll find a way to get that oaf to break down, as well as his shield." Brendan mumbled.

"I've already started calculating a plan you fool." Brendan frowned at me.

"In the meantime, Gastly, use Psywave this time on Donphan."

Gastly's eyes began to glow blue, and he formed several blue circles of psychic energy. They waved in a very bouncy yet single-file way into Donphan, bringing his HP down more.

"And Anorith, use Water Gun!"

Anorith's mouth opened up to shoot a blast of water at Donphan, which would be a super effective hit.

"Donphan, Protect! And this time, hold it until I say so!"

Donphan formed a shield again, only this time it was slightly smaller. The Water Gun was deflected.

"Now, Aron, use Earthquake!"

Aron again stomped the ground with its front paws, sending out a shock wave. But this time, I had a plan.

"Quick, Gastly! Get in front of Anorith and use Protect!" I shouted. Gastly floated over to Anorith and formed a large golden shield, which destroyed their part of the attack. For Donphan... well, Protect gets weaker the longer it's held, so... Donphan's shield shrank more and more as the shock wave from Earthquake got closer... Well, as you can guess, the Protect shield was destroyed, as was Donphan from Earthquake. The elephant toppled over as his eyes became swirls.

"Sorry to break your heart, Dakim, but I'm afraid we've broken more, like your strategy! MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" I laughed.

"GRRGH! Donphan, return!" Dakim held out a small-in-comparison-to-his-hand Poke Ball which shot out a red laser that grabbed Donphan and vacuumed him up.

"This time, I shall not use my so-called EarthProtect combo!" Dakim shouted, throwing a Great Ball this time. A red Fire Element with a chameleon-styled body appeared. It stood on its hind legs, had white claws on its arms, a yellow belly, an appendage shaped like a stick coming out of its head, and a tail with a flame on its tip.

"Char-mel-eon!" it grunted in a shrill voice.

"Wow, a Charmeleon!" I cried, seeing the Kanto 1st stage Evolution starter before me.

"Yeah, that is cool!" Brendan agreed.

My Gastly and Brendan's Anorith vs. CA Dakim's Aron and Charmeleon

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Anorith, use Water Gun again!"

"Gastly, use Psywave!"

Anorith's mouth opened to shoot out a blast of blue water as Gastly's eyes began to glow blue, and soon the Ghost Element shot a blue psychic beam toward Charmeleon. Anorith's Water Gun was launched in Aron's direction.

"Charmeleon, Aron, Protect!" Dakim shouted.

Charmeleon and Aron waved their arms/front legs around and formed a golden-hued barrier in front of the two, which deflected the offensive attacks.

"Hmm... Brendan, keep up Anorith's attack. I have yet another plan."

"Oh, wow. I'm sure it'll work." Brendan said sarcastically. "Anorith, keep it up!"

Anorith's Water Gun kept on going. Charmeleon crouched behind Aron, who kept up Protect. After Aron's barrier nearly broke, Charmeleon began Protect with a fully charged barrier, and the two switched regularly.

"Perfect." I whispered. I motioned for Gastly to come over to me, who did.

"Gastly, when Charmeleon stops using Protect, disappear. Then reappear behind him and use Shadow Blitz, okay?" Gastly nodded its head.

Soon the event happened. Charmeleon leapt behind Aron for cover. Gastly disappeared in its ghostly way, appeared behind Charmeleon and tackled it with a purple aura, and returned to my side of the field. But no one noticed except me and of course the two involved. That is until Aron's Protect began to waver.

"Okay, Charmeleon!" Dakim growled, but nothing happened. "NOW, CHARMELEON!" Still nothing! Aron's shield broke, allowing Anorith's Water Gun to hit, causing extreme damage to a certain Rock/Steel Element. Finally, Dakim noticed the KO'd body of Charmeleon, plus spiral eyes.

"WHAT! HOW'D THIS HAPPEN!" Dakim roared.

"Easy, Dakim. While Brendan and you were so focused on the battle, my Gastly floated behind Charmeleon invisibly. It then planted a super effective Shadow Blitz, which musta been strong enough to KO it!" I explained. Gastly cackled meanly.

"GRARGH! YOU SHALL PAY! Return Charmeleon!" Dakim clutched Charmeleon's Great Ball, which shot a red beam out. Charmeleon was touched by the beam and became the same red energy, and was returned to the Ball.

"Now, I call upon you, Hitmonlee!"

Dakim tossed a Great Ball and with a white flash, a Hitmonlee, a Fighting-Type with a brown body, a small nose, long, flexible arms and legs with white tape on them, white claws and a yellow dot on the feet, and dark brown eyes.

"Mon-lee! Hit-mon-lee!" Hitmonlee grunted in a raspy voice, flailing its legs about in fancy kicks.

"Wow, D. You're decent enough to have an impressive Pokemon?" Brendan taunted.

"HEY! I WAS GONNA SAY THAT, ONLY MEANER AND MORE PAT-ISH!" I yelled.

"GRR!" Dakim growled.

"AAH!" Brendan screamed.

"Eep!" I squeaked.

"Aha, so the 'Great Pat' is afraid of something!" Brendan said.

"I was just, uh, testing you, Brendan! Now, on with the battle!"

My Gastly and Brendan's Anorith vs. CA Dakim's Hitmonlee and Aron

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, go for it! Giga Drain that pestilential Aron!"

"Anorith, use Swords Dance and then Shadow Rush that Hitmonlee!"

In front of Gastly formed a large green ball of energy as well as Aron. Aron began to groan as several energy streams bolted from Aron's ball to Gastly. Half the energy taken from Aron healed Gastly as Aron tumbled about, its HP down in the red zone.

Meanwhile, several white swords formed around Anorith, and then they slashed together creating red sparks, boosting Anorith's already formidable Attack. Finally, while surrounded in a dark violet aura, Anorith charged toward Hitmonlee, ready to deliver a devastating blow.

"Hitmonlee, use Hi Jump Kick!" Dakim growled.

Hitmonlee saw the attack coming, so he leapt up high into the air, and with its left leg stuck out and right one bent back, he came down quickly toward the Rock/Bug fossil Pokemon, gaining red meteor-like streaks from the friction. The counterattack hit, automatically knocking Anorith out of the battle.

"Aw man!" Brendan groaned. He then pulled out Anorith's Ball and recalled his fallen Pokemon.

"Hmm... Good job, Anorith. But now, it's time for my next Pokemon! So, come on out, Omanyte!" Brendan threw a Poke Ball onto the field, and his Omanyte appeared.

"Oman!" it grunted.

My Gastly and Brendan's Omanyte vs. CA Dakim's Hitmonlee and Aron

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"MY turn to attack first! Hitmonlee, use... Grr... EARTHQUAKE!" Dakim roared.

Hitmonlee crouched on the ground, and then it slammed it with its foot, causing an orange shockwave to blast across the field.

"Aron, Protect!"

Aron formed a golden shield in front of itself that deflected the shockwave away.

"Omanyte, use Protect as well!"

Omanyte wiggled its blue tentacles and created a shield that also deflected the Earthquake attack. And of course, Gastly wasn't even hit. The shields of Protect disappeared once the Ground move ceased to exist for the moment.

"Aron, use Rock Slide!" Dakim growled.

"HUH?" Brendan asked, dumbfounded at the reaction time of our lumbering opponent.

Aron stood on its hind legs and then slammed its front ones down, causing several large rocks to fly up at Gastly and Omanyte's faces. Omanyte was resistant, but Gastly got the full force.

"Gastly, you can take it! Go and use Shadow Blitz!"

Gastly became surrounded in a large purple haze as he began to charge toward Hitmonlee.

Right before Gastly struck, Dakim shouted:

"HITMONLEE, COUNTER WITH METRONOME!"

A white orb with a yellow question mark on it appeared in front of Hitmonlee, and soon something came out...

A HUGE WAVE OF WATER! Metronome had become Surf!

The wave of blue liquid hit Gastly, and critically too, as well as Omanyte. Both took so much damage, they fainted.

"Agh!" Brendan cried out.

"Grr..." I growled.

"HA-HA-HA! Looks like a Double KO to me!" Dakim gloated.

"I wouldn't get my ego filled with, uh, egotistical nonsense yet, Dakim!" I shouted as Brendan recalled his Omanyte. I did the same with Gastly.

"You're one to talk." Brendan muttered.

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Hmph... Now, time for my last Pokemon... Come on out! BAYLEEF!"

"What?" I said with a questioning look.

Brendan threw a Poke Ball and with a white flash of light appeared a Bayleef, a Grass Element with a tan-colored body and crimson red eyes. A ring of large green leaves floated around its neck, as well as a leaf on its head with a circular indent and a sharpened edge. The Pokemon had a tail and a white claw on each foot.

"Bay-bay!" it called out.

'Oh... Brendan must have evolved Chikorita! But, I don't remember it...' I thought.

"Don't ask, I'll tell ya. Since you did most of the battling, Pat, May and I have been training our Pokemon a lot when you're gone or asleep." Brendan explained.

"Ah... Okay. Well, time for my second Pokemon! Let's do this, Pikachu!"

I threw a Great Ball and my newly acquired Pikachu appeared with a bluish-white flash.

"Pi-ka-chu!" my Electric Mouse cried out.

"Time for my... Uh, _our_ conquest to be complete!" I said.

"_Whatever._" Brendan mumbled sarcastically as a sweat drop dripped down his head.

"I'll act like I didn't hear that."

My Pikachu and Brendan's Bayleef vs. CA Dakim's Aron and Hitmonlee

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!"

Bayleef tilted its head back, and then lurched it forward and sent out several sharp, crescent-shaped leaves in a spinning motion from the leaf on its head. They went towards both Hitmonlee and Aron.

"Aron, Hitmonlee! Protect!" Dakim exclaimed.

Aron brought its head down to form a large golden shield as Hitmonlee crossed its arms to do the same. The Razor Leaf attack dissipated once thy hit.

"HA!"

"Agh..." Brendan grumbled.

"Pikachu, Shadow Rush!"

Pikachu's yellow body became illuminated with purple energy, complemented by an evil look. He then rammed himself into Aron, caused a super effective hit, and finally brought upon the knockout of the hard and hardy Pokemon.

"ARON!" Dakim growled loudly, seeing his long-lasting Pokemon topple over onto its back.

"RETURN!" Dakim thrust out Aron's Ball and withdrew him.

"Time for my fifth Pokemon... AND MY STRONGEST!" Dakim roared, throwing an _Ultra _Ball into the air.

'Sheesh! Must be good if it's in an Ultra Ball!' I exclaimed in my head.

"Me-tang!" came the cry of the Pokemon. It was a Metang, a blue Steel/Psychic Element with a blue discus-shaped body, two spider-like legs with three white metallic claws on the ends, a sharp, horizontal, white cone-shaped nose, two spikes on the sides, and black eyes with a red iris.

"Oh, now this is gonna get interesting..." I said quietly with a tone filled with intrigue.

"Yeah..." Brendan agreed in a half moan, knowing Bayleef won't do very good against the Steel-Type.

My Pikachu and Brendan's Bayleef vs. CA Dakim's Metang and Hitmonlee

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Bayleef, use Body Slam on Hitmonlee!"

Bayleef began to run toward Hitmonlee, but about halfway, he stopped and jumped up high then landed onto the Fighting-Type. Bayleef soon leapt away and returned to Brendan's part of the field to await its next command.

"Hitmonlee, use Jump Kick!"

Hitmonlee jumped up, and then flew in towards Bayleef and delivered a powerful kick to the chest of the Grass Pokemon, then retreating to its side.

"Pikachu, use Shadow Rush on... Metang!"

Pikachu rammed its yellow body into Metang with a purple haze around it and an evil smirk plastered on its face, causing a good bit of damage. The Electric Mouse returned to my side of the battlefield afterwards.

"Metang, use Metal Claw!"

Metang's two blue arms became a sparkling metallic color at the end and claws. He floated over toward Pikachu rather quickly and slashed it with both arms, then retreated.

"Grr..." I growled.

"And now, Hitmonlee! Use EARTHQUAKE CONTINUALLY!" Dakim roared.

Hitmonlee began to stomp its feet into the ground, sending waves of orange-red energy out towards Metang, Bayleef, and Pikachu.

"Metang, Protect!"

"Bayleef, Protect!"

"Pikachu, Protect!"

All of the aforementioned Pokemon formed a golden barrier in front of their bodies, deflecting off the Earthquake attack. However, Hitmonlee _kept on using it!_

"Metang, when you get the chance hover above the Earthquake ringlets!"

Metang, once he had enough time, ceased Protect and hovered up above the "danger zone".

Brendan and I were sure that Dakim would keep using the Ground attack, so we had our Pokemon do a similar stunt.

"Pikachu, stop using Protect as well and jump when the drifts come!" I shouted.

"Bayleef, you too!"

The shields of Pikachu and Bayleef disappeared, and when the shockwaves came towards them, they simply hopped over.

'This will get us NOWHERE!' I snarled in my head. Before I could figure out a strategy, an attention-getter happened.

"PIKACHU!" cried out my Electric Element. It had gotten tired from jumping and was hit precisely by Earthquake, automatically KO'ing it.

"PIKACHU!" I exclaimed. A deep growl escaped my lips...

The mouse was recalled to its Poke Ball, and the quakes stopped. DAKIM HAD PLANNED THIS!

"Now, Cipher Admin Dakim... I shall show you _no mercy._"

'Yeesh... Looks like someone cares about that Pikachu...' Brendan thought. 'Maybe he's got a lot of pressure on his mind. After all, it has been him that's done all the battling and stuff...'

"Come out, Totodile!" I shouted, summoning Totodile to the field.

"Toto-dah!" it said, doing a jig-like dance. Then it realized it was battling and... Well, you ought to know. He ran back to me and clutched onto my legs...

"TOTODILE! I AM OFFICIALLY FED UP WITH YOUR RIDICULOUS ATTITUDE! I DO NOT WANT A POKEMON THAT HIDES EVERY TIME IT BATTLES!" I yelled, clenching my teeth.

"Pat... Maybe that was a little harsh..." Brendan said, seeing my Totodile's now scared look.

"_I don't care, Brendan._ _I need a Pokemon who isn't a coward._ _You solve your own problems, YOU IDIOT!_" I roared. A large gust of wind began to blow at Brendan, knocking him back.

"PAT!" May cried out, seeing my eyes beginning to flash... Soon they reverted to an emerald color... And laid on Dakim.

"_Now, where was I...? HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!_" Totodile's eyes had become like mine. "_I remember... THRASHING A CERTAIN CIPHER ADMIN! GACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!_" I laughed again.

My Totodile and Brendan's Bayleef vs. CA Dakim's Metang and Hitmonlee

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"B-Bayleef, use Strength attack on Hitmonlee!" Brendan ordered with a slight stutter, seeing me.

Bayleef hardened up his muscles and first tackled the Fighting Element, head butted it second, and lastly lowered its yellow head and rammed like a bull, all bringing Hitmonlee's HP down into the reds.

"Metang, avenge Hitmonlee! Use Fury Cutter!"

Metang's left claws began glowing a faint green color as the Steel/Psychic "dashed" toward Bayleef and slashed it, causing a super effective blow to the Grass Pokemon. The claw used had a small strand of green running behind it.

"Bayleef!" Brendan cried.

"_You fool. It's only a scratch! Totodile, use Crunch!_" I shouted in my deeper voice.

Totodile's teeth began to glow a dark color as he ran toward Metang, clamping down on the metallic Pokemon. After a few seconds, Totodile let go.

"_Excellent, Totodile._" I said.

"BUT NOT EXCELLENT ENOUGH! GRR!" Dakim growled. "Hitmonlee, use Hi Jump Kick on that stupid alligator!"

"_LIKE I SAID EARLIER TO A CIPHER GRUNT, HE IS A **CROCODILE!**_"

"Whatever...!"

Hitmonlee used its leg power to jump up, and then he came in toward Totodile with one of its legs stuck out.

"_Totodile, dodge that._"

Totodile hopped out of Hitmonlee's path, and the Fighting Pokemon crashed to the ground, causing some damage from the force.

"_And now, Totodile, Water Gun!_"

Totodile opened its jaws again to shoot a blue water beam at Hitmonlee, knocking it out!

"ARGHHHHH!" Dakim roared, seeing his most impressive Pokemon faint. He held out its Ball and recalled it.

"That's it... Now I shall summon my last Pokemon... Seviper, I choose YOU!" Dakim threw an Ultra Ball and his last Pokemon appeared.

"Se...VIPER!" hissed Seviper, a Poison snake-like Pokemon. It had a long dark blue body with several golden markings on its back and along its lower sides, a purple thunderbolt-like mark on its neck, and a purple stripe below the tip of its tail, which was scythe-like, having a red edge. Its head had a golden lower jaw, a large mark on its upper jaw as well as another gold one with a bump, two large red fangs, and last two red, glaring eyes.

"_S...S...SNAKE!_" I cried out, seeing one of my worst fears.

"Pat, it's just a little serpent thingie." Brendan said angrily, still sore about me nearly blasting him off the pillar with a gust of wind.

"_A Shadow 'serpent thingie'._" I corrected, mocking Brendan's previous 'description' of Seviper.

My visor had popped up in front of my eyes, and it read and blared:

"Seviper. Level 19. Poison Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"_Even more of a reason to be scared of it, you imbecilic and insolent ingrate!_"

My Totodile and Brendan's Bayleef vs. CA Dakim's Metang and... Brr... Seviper

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Metang, use Psychic on Bayleef!"

Metang's eyes flashed a blue color, and the same color illuminated Bayleef. He was thrown about for a moment, guided by Metang's arms.

"And Seviper, use Shadow Rush!"

Seviper, surrounded by a dark purple haze, began to smirk evilly as he rammed his body into Bayleef, causing some serious damage. Just like that, Bayleef was KO'd.

"No... Bayleef!" Brendan cried out, seeing he had lost his last Pokemon usable in the battle. He let a growl escape his mouth before recalling his fallen Grass-Type.

"_Hmph, I see I'm left alone. No matter; I shall defeat both of your Pokemon, Dakim! HA-HA-HA-HA!_" I shouted.

"You wish." Dakim mumbled.

My Totodile vs. CA Dakim's Metang and Seviper

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"_Totodile, use Ice Beam._"

Totodile opened it mouth again and formed an icy blue sphere in its mouth, which beamed out at Seviper as a thunderbolt-like blast. Seviper was encased in an ice prison, meaning Ice Beam's full effect took place; Seviper was Frozen!

"Grr!" Dakim growled. "Metang, use Take Down!"

Metang folded its arms to make its body even more discus-like and aerodynamic, and began to spin toward Totodile.

"_Totodile, counter with your strongest move: **HYDRO CANNON!**_" I yelled.

A ball of water formed in front of Totodile's mouth, which grew and grew... After it charged up slightly Totodile unleashed the aquatic fury in the form of two blasts twisting around each other, which stopped Metang and automatically knocked it out, the attack was so immensely powerful!

"Whoa..." Brendan, May, and I gasped at the extreme power.

"Well, it _is _the most powerful Water attack." Brendan said.

Dakim growled again and recalled his fallen Metang to its Ball. Now it was just one-on-one...

My Totodile vs. CA Dakim's Seviper

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Since Hydro Cannon required the user to rest for a while, Dakim got his chance for a free shot. He pulled out a bottle with a blue liquid in it and a spray top. He aimed it at Seviper and pulled the trigger, releasing a blue gas that melted the ice around it.

"Se-viper-r-r-r-r-r..." Seviper trilled, now free from the ice-cold encasing.

"Seviper, now's our chance! Use Shadow Rush!"

Seviper became illuminated in a dark purple color as his grin widened into a smirk. He charged toward Totodile as fast as a snake could.

"_Totodile, block it!_" I shouted. Totodile was still immobile.

"_**NOW**, Totodile!_" Nothing happened!

Suddenly, Totodile began to flash white.

"_Hmm?_" I pondered, peering at the puzzling sight before me.

Totodile had mutated, in a manner of speaking, into a larger, more plump crocodile with a blue head and yellow lower jaw, a yellow belly with blue spots and inlets, more fearsome eyes, sharper claws, two white teeth popping out from the lower jaw, and three red spikes on the head, two on the neck, and one on the tail. The newer Pokemon caught Seviper before he could strike and _blocked the attack!_

"_He evolved... Totodile is now a Croconaw!_" I cried out.

"Wow..." May said, seeing my new Croconaw fend off Seviper.

"_URK!_" I screamed, feeling the strange power retreating from my body and mind. My eyes had returned to normal as well as Croconaw's, and my voice had too.

"Ugh..." I moaned.

"Pat! You okay?" Brendan asked.

"Just fine, Brendan. Croconaw, are you still okay to battle?" I fell to my knees, holding my head. An enormous headache had developed.

"Croc..." Croconaw nodded.

"Good. Use... uh, Surf!"

Croconaw leaned back as water formed on the field. He suddenly lurched forward with his mouth open, his tongue flicking furiously, releasing the water in a wave-like form. It hit Seviper, knocking him back a little bit, and the water disappeared.

"Alright! Even when he's injured or something Pat's still strong!" Brendan cheered. Then he noticed May was missing. She had walked over to meand helped support my weakened body. She put her arm under mine, and a tint of red appeared on my cheeks.

"Pat? Do you have a fever? Your face is a little red."

"Huh? What? Who? Uh... I'm fine, May." I stuttered. The red disappeared.

"GRRGH!" Brendan growled, seeing May "embrace" me. I sent him a look that said I wasn't stealing his girlfriend, and he calmed down... Slightly.

"Now, on with the battle, Dakim." I said.

"Precisely. Seviper, use Shadow Rush again!"

Seviper began to rush toward Croconaw as it became illuminated with purple and started to smirk wickedly. He managed to hit Croconaw, causing his HP to dip into the low greens.

"Grr... Croconaw, now! Scratch it!"

Seviper was still in Croconaw's proximity, so Croconaw landed a critical and dead-on attack, dipping Seviper's HP into the low yellows.

"And now, finish it with your Brick Break!"

Croconaw then flattened its palms, which began to glow a reddish-brown hue. He hit Seviper twice, bringing Seviper's HP down even more with the not-very-effective strike.

"And now... SNAG BALL GO!" I yelled, slipping a Great Ball into the Snag Machine. It became surrounded by red, and I threw it at Seviper. It hit him, sucked him up with red energy, and fell to the ground, where it shook several times. I crossed my fingers it would work...

The shaking stopped. Dakim had been DEFEATED! I walked over to the Great Ball that held Seviper and picked it up. I threw it to Brendan, who caught it.

"You take it, Brendan. I don't really want a Pokemon with a snake-like body. Brr..." I shivered. Turning to Croconaw, I said:

"Can you forgive me for what I said, Croconaw? I'm truly sorry, and I wasn't myself..."

After scratching its head, Croconaw grunted and nodded his head!

"YAY! THANK YOU!" I recalled my still faithful Pokemon to his Ball to rest.

"GRR! THE GREAT DAKIM WILL BE BACK!" Dakim ran/lumbered toward me with his fist in a hitting position, so I ran to the edge. At the right moment, I dodged him, making him fall, as well as scream as _manly _as he could. The tower widened out at the bottom, so he slammed into it, emitting an "Ow..." He fell all the way down by sliding, but miraculously survived. He then scampered away as we threw our heads back in laughter and left for Gateon...

PM: Sorry this took so long, but this is a HUGE Chapter, 182 KB. I hope this is the last time I say this, but THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN PATINATOR HISTORY.

Please note that this story will be on hold for the next month at least. I'm very sorry, but I need to tend to other things.


	7. Chapter 7

PM: FOOLED YA! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Well... Not exactly. I've been so sucked into this story, I CAN'T QUIT EVEN IF I WANNA! That just _proves _I'm evil; I can't get Shadow Pokemon and Cipher (And of course me.) out of my head. Take that, people who think I'm just a kooky guy with no real hopes! HA-HA-HA! Wait, this calls for my true evil laugh... GAAAAAAAAAAACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!

Chapter 7:

Meet the Mega Disco Man!

After our battle vs. Dakim, May, Brendan, and I went back to Gateon Port and rested up in the Pokemon Center for our next trip. Well... _Two _did. Guess who didn't.

_I _stayed up all night looking at the five hundred fifty five million e-mails I got on my newly purchased PDA from a certain un-secret admirer... Ugh... (Don't ask me how she got my PDA number! She must have spies in high or low places...)

Here's a one I had just gotten...

_Dearest Pat:_

_I so miss you! Why are you wasting your time saving the Shadow Pokemon I closed the hearts of, huh? You oughta be back here with me, helping! Your extreme genius would be a totally big help, y'know!_

_-Lovy_

My reply:

_Un-dearest Lovrina:_

_I'll never refer to you as "Lovy"! Get over it. Thanks to when I was at the Cipher Lab, you absent-minded adolescent, every time I've seen the word love, or any comb of l, o, and v, I'VE GONE CRAZY!_

_Dear Pat,_

_You are so funny! You've called me Lovy before! And you're already crazy (Since you won't admit your love for me); how can you go crazy? And I'm an adult, not an adolescent. Don't tell me I like someone who uses words he doesn't know the meaning of! _

My reply:

_I KNOW WHAT AN ADOLESCENT IS, YOU IDIOT! I WAS CRITICIZING YOUR EXTREMELY EXAGGERATED I.Q.! THEY GAVE YOU SUCH I HIGH NUMBER BECAUSE YOU'RE SO CUTE! GRR! **AND I'M NOT CRAZY!**_

I shut my PDA off as soon as that one sent. I knew she'd catch that accidental complement, so I wouldn't open any new email for a while unless it was from Michael or someone else.

I looked at the clock on the Center's wall, and it read 5:16. Since I clearly wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, I decided to go around town and see what the early morning had to offer. Going out the Center door, I saw the sun was just rising. It was then in the far distance, I noticed a misty shape, just what I asked Brendan and May about when they came back to Agate earlier after a date... And then I noticed a mechanical thing with an orca-like shape... I knew what it was.

Anyway, I went around Gateon and found a clothes shop that was open. Since I had desired a new look for a long time, I went in...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I had chosen a very Pat-ish selection on clothing, and only spent... Uh... 2500 Pokemon Dollars? Hee-hee?

I had finished changing and walked into the mirror room. I had replaced my casual attire with a black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, a personalized emerald belt with a green P-shaped buckle, a black headband, black shoes with green bottoms, and lastly a large black cloak with a red inside wrapped around my collar. It was long enough to drag the ground on both sides, and was also draped over my back on the right and on the left frontward. The gloves Lovrina gave me remained because I had begun to enjoy the scent of her perfume...

"Nice clothes..." came a deep, dark voice. I looked behind me and then stepped back. Wouldn't you if you just turned around to see a person with glowing red eyes and wavy, gray Medusa-style hair!

This strange man wore purple clothing with a lot of cloth poking out from the waist in the same style as his hair, and dark brown boots. I didn't recognize him, _yet_...

"I'm intrigued by your wardrobe, kid. Just who are you, by any chance?" this strange man asked, coming closer. He noticed my gloves and a smirk spread across his face.

"Um... My first name is Pat, and that's all you get." I calmly walked out, paying for my buy. After I left, a chuckle came from the person I met.

'So... That's the Pat Lovrina keeps whining, mumbling, and talking dreamily about... Ha-ha-ha...' he thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Four hours later

After my partners had woken up, they had met me in a shadowy alleyway. When they saw my attire and my shadowed face, they thought I was a ghost or something, but then my face un-shadowed. I got two positive critiques about my clothing.

"And now we all have alike clothing because we all have black and/or red!" May added.

"Yep. Now, Pat, should we go to the HQ Lab for our assignment or what?" Brendan asked.

"Well... Actually, I have a request from Michael. I emailed him with my new Pokemon Digital Assistant, or PDA. He said that he'd meet us at a Poke Spot... The Cave Poke Spot."

"What's a PDA? And what's a Poke Spot?" the two questioned.

"A PDA is a device like a computer, keeping records of things, as well as the ability to send out emails. But it's more of a Wi-fi machine. And a Poke Spot is... Well... You can't catch wild Pokemon in Orre except at the three Poke Spots: Oasis, Cave, and Rock. Appropriate Pokemon appear there if Poke Snacks are placed on a little plate. But enough chat chit."

"Chit-chat." Brendan corrected.

"Whatever. Chat, chut, chet, chit, chot. Gimme a break. Anyway, let's go. The Cave Spot is on the mountainside of Mt. Battle."

We climbed on our motor scooters and rumbled away.

We made a pit stop in Agate Village. It appeared quite a few of our Pokemon were ready to be Purified!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the long Purification processes, we walked to the outskirts of Agate to discuss which Pokemon had been Purified.

"My Omanyte, Anorith, and Aron have been de-Shadowed." Brendan said.

"So were my Kabuto, Lileep, and Sentret!" May giggled. "Sentret even Evolved into a Furret!"

"Hmm... The Purified Pokemon I now own is Gastly. Only he was Purified. However, Pikachu and Elekid are close. How is your, uh..." I gulped. "...Seviper doing, Brendan?"

"Oh, he's barely begun open his heart. But I'll be using him a lot!"

We then hopped on our scooters and continued toward the Cave Spot.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After another half-hour long trip, we had made it to our destination. Before going in, I had to get used to the altitude... I'M ACROPHOBIC, ALL RIGHT?

"AAAHHH!" I screamed, seeing how high up we were. "WE'RE DOOMED! NOOOOOOO!"

"Pat... Get over your fear of heights. Both Brendan and I have been in higher spots like the top of a mountain, THE TOP OF A VOLCANO..." May said, shouting the last bit.

"Yeah, besides; You've been at the top of Mt. Battle!" Brendan added.

"Yes, but I was distracted because of the battling!"

"Oh..." May grabbed my cloak and pulled me into the Cave Spot. "There. That better? Ya can't fall from here."

"Thanks May..." I sighed. I took in the surroundings and saw plenty of dark stalactites and stalagmites hanging, as well as water dripping down from them. A gray, empty plate was in the middle, where Poke Snacks went. Only one was there, which looked like one tenth of a slice of yellow circle cheese.

"Hello, laddies and lassie!" came a shout. It was Michael, obviously.

"Hey, Michael!" Brendan greeted. May did the same, and the two walked up to him.

...I suddenly began hearing a noise as I leaned against a cave wall. And then voices...

"Well, boys, my hidden cameras have detected four unwelcome guests!" The person had a slight whiny voice.

"Um... Michael? May? Brendan?"

They looked at me.

"I hear a voice behind this wall. And music."

"Oh, yes. That's why I called you here. A per-r-r-rson none of you would know, maybe, has made a base in this Poke Spot! We must get him out of her-r-re! The lad's name is Mir-r-r-ror B."

"WOWZA! You mean Miror B., the past Cipher Admin and present disco star? AWESOME!" I yelled, going slightly crazy. Wait, what? Who typed that? WHO?

"Uh... Yeah, him." Michael sweat dropped.

"What, a guy can't love disco?"

Suddenly, a piece of 3-D cloth that matched the part of the cave it was on dropped down to reveal three people. All were males in a jumpsuit and veiled helmets with the letters "**M B.**" on them. One had green-died hair and a green jumpsuit, another had brown hair and a brown jumpsuit, and the last had red hair and a red jumpsuit.

"HA! Meet three of the six Hexagon Brothers, top-ranking Grunts in Team Miror B.!" shouted the red one. "I'm Resix!"

"I'm Greesix!" said the green one.

"And I'm Browsix!" the brown-clad one cried out.

"And you're all very weird!" I yelled, annoyed at the introductions. I KNEW WHO THEY WERE! SHEESH!

"Hey, hey, hey... We're brothers! We should all be treated by, in this case, three-fold kindness!" Browsix growled.

"We have three-fold power!" snarled Resix.

"And three-fold underwear!" shouted Greesix.

A sweat drop appeared on my brow at the "underwear" thing. "AND YOU'RE ALL THREE-FOLD STUPID!"

All three glared at me, and my comrades laughed their heads off...

"It's not a joke. Anyway, Resix, I thought you, you're idiotic brothers here, as well as Yellosix, Purpsix, and Blusix were Cipher Peons."

"WE WERE!" came a booming group of voices. A group of people in the same clothing as the other Hexagon Brothers ran up to us from a tunnel. One was in yellow, another blue, and last a purple one.

"I am..." started the blue-wearer.

"I KNOW! The purple is Purpsix, yellow is Yellosix, and blue is Blusix!" I shouted.

"Hmph... Big bully."

"GRR! WHADDYA WANT FROM US, HEXAGON BROS.?"

Michael spoke up. "They annoyed me this much as well, lad."

"Clearly... Guys, I know we gotta beat 'em, but if their battling skills are as good as their taunting skills... We're doomed." Brendan whispered after pulling us into a tight group.

"Yes, but bigger isn't always better..." I said as an evil look popped up on my face.

"Oh, boy. I can already see those gears in your head working, Pat. What are you up to?" May asked.

"Well, if we take 'em on two at a time in double battles with a partner, our two-fold power may beat their three-fold or whatever!"

"Br-r-r-r-rilliant!" Michael complemented.

"Just in case, Michael, you battle with Brendan and May, I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me." I said.

"In case what, Pat?" May asked. I gave no reply...

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Let's do this, Greesix and Yellosix!" Brendan shouted as he pulled out a Great Ball. Michael pulled out a Poke Ball as Yellosix and Greesix both pulled Poke Balls from their belts.

"Browsix and Purpsix, you shall lose!" I growled, pulling a Great Ball from my belt. May did as well, and the two Hexagon Bros. we were fighting pulled out two Poke Balls.

"Let's do this!" I called out. Brendan, May, me, and Michael threw out our Balls in that order, saying (Also in that order.):

"Seviper!"

"Magby!"

"Pikachu!"

"And Jolteon!"

Upon the respective battlefields materialized Brendan's Seviper, my Pikachu, May's Magby, and Michael's Jolteon, and Electric Element with a lion-like appearance. It had large, yellow-lined, diamond-shaped ears, a white jagged mane, a short but wide, jagged yellow tail, black eyes, a small black nose, and a yellow body. All gave howls from being released to battle.

'Alright... Michael's using his evolved starter...' I thought.

In the following order, the Hexagon Bros. threw their Balls and shouted: Greesix, Browsix, Yellosix, and lastly Purpsix.

"Let's go! Seedot!"

"Baltoy!"

"Mareep!"

"And Gulpin!"

With four flashes of light, on Michael and Brendan's battlefield, appeared a Seedot, a Grass Element with an acorn body, a brownish-gray cap with circular designs and a stem, large yellow eyes underneath the cap with a black iris and yellow pupil, and yellow, oval-shaped feet with a line around the middle. Beside it appeared a Mareep, an Electric Element with a sheep-like body. It had yellow, puffy wool over its main body, a blue head with a yellow curl of wool and two black and yellow-striped, cone-shaped, horizontal ears, four barely visible blue feet, and a black-yellow striped tail ending with a yellow sphere.

"See-dot!" chirped Seedot in a high-pitched voice.

"Mar-e-e-e-e-e-e-ep!" trilled Mareep.

On the battlefield where May and I were at appeared a Baltoy, a Ground/Psychic Element with a clay-colored body, a point on its oval-shaped head, red marks over its closed eyes, a red mark on its small, circular belly, a point on the bottom of its abdomen that is stood and spun on, and two flat arms with no fingers or anything that weren't much less than balancers. Next to it was a Gulpin, a Poison-Type that had the form of a green bag-like creature with a yellow feather on its head, two fat fingers on each side of its body with no arms, a black diamond on its back, two lines for eyes, and lastly, a large mouth with a purple interior color.

"Bal-toy!" cried Baltoy.

"Guuuuuuuuul-pin..." droned Gulpin in a low voice.

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Right away I noticed that the Hexagon Bros.' Pokemon were the same species as their Shadow Pokemon from Cipher's second time in Orre. But did they have real Shadows was the question...

(Please note that I shall only type a battle at a time to save you from confusion.)

Brendan and Michael's battle

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three (Intriguing, eh?) double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

Michael's Jolteon and Brendan's Seviper vs. Team Miror B. Grunts Greesix's Seedot and Yellosix's Mareep

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Seviper, use Shadow Rush!" ordered Brendan, pointing toward Mareep.

Seviper began glowing purple and a sinister smirk formed up on its face as it began to slither quickly toward the Electric sheep. The strike hit, despite Mareep's trying to dodge, and brought it down to the low yellows!

"Hmph...!" Yellosix grunted. "Mareep, use Thundershock!"

Mareep's body began to glow a yellow hue as a small lightning bolt blasted from its body onto Seviper. Only a minute amount of damage was caused.

"Thundershock? HA-HA!" Brendan laughed mockingly. But then, electricity crackled from Seviper briefly.

"Huh?"

"THE JOKE'S ON YOU, BRENDAN! Your Seviper's been Paralyzed!"

"And now it's my turn to attack!" Greesix growled. "Seedot, use Bullet Seed!"

Seedot began to shoot yellow seed-shaped objects from where its mouth would be, in multiples of two, three, and four... They hit Jolteon several times, but because of the Electric Element's high level, barely did a thing.

"You may do this one, laddie." Michael said to Brendan.

"Okay... Seviper, use Shadow Rush again!"

Seviper's body glowed a dark purple. He tackled Mareep again with a wide evil smirk, depleting the rest of its HP.

"MAREEP!" Yellosix growled, seeing his sheep flop down. "Grr... Return!" With a flash of red, Mareep was withdrawn back into its Poke Ball, in Yellosix's hand.

"I'll let you replace it, brother."

"Excellent... It's time Grovyle!" Greesix snarled. He threw a Great Ball into the air, and out popped out a Grovyle, a Grass Element with a red underside, except for a small green stripe across the belly. The rest of his lizard-like body was a light green shade, save the three dark green scythe-shaped leaves coming out of each wrist, a long streamer-like leaf flowing from the tip of its head, and the two sharp leaves that served as "a" tail.

Suddenly, from a gray mechanical contraption on Michael's right ear slid out (With a poof of dust) a green object, not unlike like my Snag Machine's visor... His Aura Reader!

It centered on Grovyle, and revealed a sinister purple aura around it... SHADOW POKEMON ALERT!

"Good thing I still have an Ultr-r-ra Ball or two left..." Michael sighed. He told Brendan that Grovyle was a Shadow.

"Wow... Well, we can take it..." Brendan said assuredly.

Michael's Jolteon and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunt Greesix's Grovyle and Seedot

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Seedot, use Giga Drain!"

Brendan's eyes widened at the thought of such a weak Pokemon using a strong attack. Seedot lifted its small feet up and spun on the small point on the bottom of its body as a green ball of energy appeared in front of it. Suddenly green bursts of sparkling energy streamed from Jolteon, flying into the ball of energy ahead of Seedot, who was healed somewhat.

"Humph... You'll never-r-r-r-r win this, Gr-r-r-ressix... I'll end your pitiful Seedot's battling days now!" Michael said loudly with a smirk. "Now, Jolteon! THUNDER-R-R-R-R-R!"

Jolteon's black eyes glinted yellow for a second, followed by the forming of strange dark clouds inside the cave, over Seedot. With a burst of light and crackle of thunder, a large, yellow blast of lightning rained down on the Grass Element. While not very effective, Jolteon's strike knocked Seedot out!

"Whoa..." Brendan gasped. He now realized how strong his redheaded partner was. "Michael... Your Jolteon is so strong..."

"Thank you, lad. We appr-r-reciate the complements."

"Well, you need 'em if ya wanna try and be as strong as me..."

"Grr... Contain it..."

"HEY! Messing up popular slang and such is Pat's job! Anyway..." A sweat drop appeared on Michael's head...

By now, Seedot had been safely secured in his Poke Ball by Greesix.

Michael's Jolteon and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunt Greesix's Grovyle

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Seviper, use your Shadow Rush!"

Seviper's body gleamed a dark violet color as its regular grin turned into a smirk. It then snaked (LITERALLY!) toward Grovyle and tackled it. The inevitable outcome was obvious; it wasn't very effective.

"HA!" Greesix taunted.

"I'm afraid I can't help you, Brendan. My Jolteon may knock that Grovyle out!" Michael whispered.

"Well… I guess I'll have to handle this battle then…"

Greesix broke their conversation with:

"Grovyle, use Dragonbreath!"

Grovyle's mouth opened, and a flash of green light emitted from it. Then a burst of green flames and fire beamed out onto Seviper, causing a powerful hit to the Poison Element.

"Seviper!" Brendan cried out. "Use your Shadow Rush!"

Seviper began to move, but suddenly yellow electricity crackled from him, ceasing his movement.

"No!"

'Okay, maybe I should help the poor lad…' Michael thought.

"Grovyle, use Shadow Wave!"

Grovyle closed its eyes, and then opened its mouth to form a shadowy ball. As soon as its eyes opened, the ball split into two and hit both Jolteon and Seviper.

"And now use Dragonbreath!"

A green flame appeared in Grovyle's mouth and blasted out towards Seviper. However…

"Jolteon, take the hit!"

Before Dragonbreath hit Seviper, Jolteon sprinted into the path of the draconic attack and took it.

"MICHAEL! What the heck are you doing?" Brendan yelled.

"Laddie, I have a few weaker Pokemon that I could bring out to help. But to do that, I need Jolteon or Seviper to faint, since I can't swap out Pokemon!"

"Oh... Wait, I have a quicker way to do that..."

"Ya do?"

"Uh-huh. Seviper, use Shadow Rush on JOLTEON!"

Seviper gave a look to Brendan that said "ARE YOU NUTS?" but did anyway. He tackled Jolteon with a purple aura and evil smile. Jolteon flinched dramatically, and gave a glare at Brendan and Seviper.

"Jolteon, don't attack 'im!" Michael cried out, seeing electricity spark from his Pokemon's back.

"Seviper, use Shadow Rush some more!"

And so, Seviper went about thrashing his own partner with Shadow Rush. Greesix looked in amazement and thought, 'WHAT KINDA PEOPLE ARE THESE IDIOTS!'

Then, after several hits, Jolteon fell down onto its belly, exhausted.

"That's good, Jolteon. I'm sor-r-r-r-r-ry about that... Return." Michael recalled his faithful Electric Element, and then held out another Poke Ball.

"Well, Brendan, here's my other-r-r-r-r-r Pokemon... I never battled with it much. It was a Shadow Pokemon, but it's now Pur-r-r-rified. And now... In choose you, Spinarak!"

With a burst of light appeared a Spinarak, a Bug/Poison Element with a green spider-like body, two large, black eyes with white pupils, a white horn on its head, two small, red pincers for a mouth, and six, yellow, spider-like legs with black middle bands. On the back of the abdomen was a black pattern identical to a face; a pair of black dots for two eyes and a flat line for a mouth.

Suddenly, there came a cry from across the cave: "AHH! I HATE SPIDERS! I'M ARACHNAPHOBIC!" It was me.

A sweat drop appeared on Michael's and Brendan's heads, but they quickly resumed the battle.

Michael's Spinarak and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunt Greesix's Grovyle

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Spinarak, use your-r-r Poison Sting!"

From between Spinarak's pincers shot several purple needles. They hit Grovyle and delivered a super effective hit. Of course, being a weak attack meant that Grovyle was only weakened a bit.

"Seviper, use your Fury Cutter!"

Seviper's tail began glowing a greenish color. He slithered over to Grovyle and slashed him, delivering another super effective yet still weak hit.

"I think it's ready..." Michael said. He grabbed an Ultra Ball with his Snag Machine hand, and it became surrounded with red energy. It then was tossed onto Grovyle with a cry of, "Go, Snag Ball!" from Michael. The Grass Element was vacuumed up with the same red-hued energy. The Snag Ball fell to the ground and shook several times, and ceased. Michael had successfully Snagged a Shadow Pokemon! After two years, he still had it!

Meanwhile...

Mine and May's Battle

"Prepare to be beaten down, you two!" I yelled.

Battle statistics: This is a four-on-four (This'll be different.) double battle with no substitutions or time limits.

My Pikachu and May's Magby vs. TMB Grunts Browsix's Baltoy and Purpsix's Gulpin

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Magby, use your Ember!"

From Magby's cone-shaped mouth came small, orange fireballs. They beamed out onto Baltoy, bringing the Ground/Psychic Pokemon's HP down a bit.

"Ha! Baltoy, retaliate with Mud-Slap!"

Baltoy spun around a few times, twirling brown mud in Pikachu's direction.

"Go, Pikachu! Deflect it with Shadow Rush!"

With a purple glow surrounding him, and an evil smirk on his face, my Electric Pokemon rammed its little body into the oncoming mud, deflecting it onto the ground. The glow disappeared as Pikachu returned to its spot.

"GRR!" Browsix growled.

"And now, Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

Pikachu's red cheek pouches sparked with electricity, and a small bolt of lightning came hurtling toward Gulpin.

"Baltoy, take it!" shouted Browsix. His Baltoy bounced into the electricity's path, absorbing it. Nothing was done to it, being a Ground Element.

"Now, May!" I shouted.

"Right! Magby, Shadow Rush!"

Magby began glowing a sinister purple as a smirk formed on its face. With a jump, it rammed Baltoy, causing major damage.

"And now, Pikachu! Shadow Rush that Gulpin!"

Pikachu's body became illuminated as well, and with a slap of the tail, Gulpin received a Shadow Rush as well, since Baltoy had been knocked away.

The two fainted at that time, falling over onto their faces.

"NO!" cried Browsix and Purpsix.

The two recalled their Pokemon, and both brought out two more Poke Balls, only Browsix's was a Great Ball.

"Let's go, Grimer!" shouted the purple-clad one of the twosome.

With a flash of white light, a Grimer appeared on the cave floor field.

"Grim-er!" it grunted as several purple globs of poison dropped onto the floor.

"EW!" cried May.

"And now, time for you! Diglett!" yelled Browsix.

He tossed his Great Ball, and it released a burst of blue-white light. From the light appeared a Diglett, a Ground-Type with a small, brown body in the shape of an elongated oval. It donned a red, oval-shaped nose and two black eyes. The body was only partially seen, as the rest was buried in a small mound of dirt around the body.

"Dig-lett!" it shrieked.

Suddenly, my Snag Machine's visor appeared and went across my eyes.

"Diglett. Level 18. Ground Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Sky. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Well, well, well... Looks like the ex-Cipher Peons wanted some revenge..." I said.

"They stole Shadow Pokemon from Cipher? But that's your job, Pat!"

A chuckled came from my throat as I looked at May briefly. "My, my... I guess Brendan loves a sit-down comedian."

"Uh, stand-up."

"That too!"

My Pikachu and May's Magby vs. TMB Grunts Browsix's Diglett and Purpsix's Grimer

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"We deserve the first strike! Grimer, Sludge 'em!" shouted Purpsix.

From Grimer's mouth, a large toxic purple glob of poison hurtled towards Pikachu. It blasted into the poor Pokemon, with excess the excess sludge splashing everywhere.

"Pikachu!" I cried.

"And now, Diglett, Shadow Sky!" ordered Browsix.

With an eerie purple glow from its body, a large gleam emitted from the cave ceiling.

"Um... Nothing happened." May said blankly.

"Shadow Sky is like a Hail attack, May. It spits out little purple energy balls from clouds. They hurt all Pokemon that aren't Shadows." I explained as I watched dark purple clouds fog up the ceiling.

"Well, then..." smirked May. "I didn't know Browsix was suicidal."

"Huh?" said Browsix.

"BOTH OF OUR POKEMON ARE SHADOWS, YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THEM USING SHADOW RUSH!"

"**OH NO!**"

I looked over at Michael and Brendan's battle to see Michael summon a Spinarak... And since I hated spiders...

"AHH! I HATE SPIDERS! I'M ARACHNAPHOBIC!" I screamed. A clobber to the head from May put my mind back to the battle.

"Ahem... Uh, May, you can attack. Ladies first."

"Funny, you never said that before. Anyway... Magby, use your Shadow Rush!"

Magby's mouth became as much as a smirk it could become as a shadowy cloud of energy surrounded it. The Fire Element then leapt up and tackled Grimer, and returned to its side of the field.

"Well, there's one..." I taunted, returning to what May said to Browsix moments ago. "And now Pikachu, use Shadow Rush as well!"

With a smirk on his face and a purple aura surrounding him, Pikachu dashed into Grimer, ultimately causing the noxious Pokemon to faint.

"And there's two..." May said.

"Grr..." snarled Purpsix, seeing his last Pokemon KO'd. With a red beam of light, he recalled Grimer to its Ball.

My Pikachu and May's Magby vs. TMB Grunt Browsix's Diglett

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Before anyone could utter a word, several balls of black-colored energy rained down from the purple haze above us. They bounced right off of the Shadow Pokemon, but not us.

"Ow!" cried May as it all pelted her head.

Browsix had pulled out an umbrella to shield him, and I held up my new cloak. After about a minute, it stopped showering the strange things.

"May, next time that stuff comes, you should get over here. I'll shield us with my cloak." I said, throwing the foresaid piece of clothing back, so that it fluttered briefly.

"Okay."

"Get on with the... Oh, never mind. Diglett, use Shadow Rush!" yelled our ex-Cipher enemy.

Diglett slid down its hole, and reappeared from a new mound in front of Magby, now surrounded by a purple aura, also having an evil smile. The Ground Element slammed into Magby, causing only slight damage.

"Magby, counterattack with Ember!"

Magby blew out several fiery balls at Diglett, and they hit. Because of the closeness, the Fire attack was critical.

"And Pikachu, use Shadow Rush again!"

Pikachu charged into Diglett with a smirk and a purple haze trailing behind him. While not very effective, Diglett's HP was in the yellows.

And then the dark balls of energy from Shadow Sky began to rain down.

"MAY!" I shouted.

My female friend ran over to my location, clung on to me, and with my cloak spread out, we were shielded by the large piece of clothing.

It had stopped, so May let go of my body.

"Uh... Thanks, Pat. For, you know, saving me from certain pain. Heh-heh." A red blush appeared on her cheeks.

"N-no problem, May. So... Where were we...? Ah, yes. ANNHILATING YOU, BROWSIX!"

He growled at us, and then yelled:

"Well, YOU CAN'T SNAG MY POKEMON! ONLY THAT DWEEB CAN SNAG SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Oh, really?" With a harsh laugh, I slipped a Great Ball into the Snag Machine. It began to glow red as it came out on my hand, and with a throw, it began sucking up Diglett. When the Snag Ball dropped down from its aerial perch, it swayed several times, with a maraca-like sound. When it stopped, May, I, and Browsix knew it had been caught.

"HA! TAKE THAT, BROWN-BOY!" May taunted. He and all the other Hexagon Brothers that had been defeated ran into the inner depths of the cave. With that over, Brendan and Michael came toward us.

"Geez, Pat. When I first met you, I thought you were a fearless evil wannabe."

"WANNABE!"

"And now you're acrophobic, spider-phobic..."

"ARACHNAPHOBIC! AND I AM NOT!"

"But you said you were outside, and you freaked out when Michael got his Spinarak out!"

A dark expression came over my face. "That's it, Snow Top. Sugar Head. Bleach hair."

"OH, YEAH! WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!"

I then pulled off Brendan's headband, and began to stretch it. With his elastic garment off, his matted, yet spiky-ish hair flipped and flopped into a more girly style.

"Well, Mr. Girly Hair, ha-ha-ha..."

"GRR! GIMME HEADBAND OR YOU DIE!"

I picked up a small rock that was really made of crushed up dirt stuck together. Putting it in Brendan's headband, I pulled it back.

"Wait, you wouldn't..."

_WHAP! _I let the slingshot-like thing go, and the dirt rock slammed into Brendan's face.

"Ooh..." He fell down.

"NO! PAT...!" May grabbed my shirt collars. "HOW CAN YOU COMA-IFY MY BRENDAN!"

"Relax, May. It was a pebble composed of dirt. Soft clay, kinda."

"Oh." She let go.

I shook my head at the sight of all the nonsense, and then turned towards Resix and Blusix.

"I'll let May and Brendan take those two on, once Brendan wakes up. Though, they are the strongest of 'em all."

"They can do it, laddie!" Michael said. May nodded in agreement.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After Brendan woke up, and clobbered me in the head a few times, he and May walked over to Blusix and Resix.

"It's time, Hexagon Brothers!" Brendan shouted, drawing out a Great Ball. May got out a Poke Ball, as did the remaining two Hexagon Brothers.

"Let's go, Seviper!"

"I choose you, Furret!"

With a burst of bluish-white light and white light appeared Brendan's Seviper. Beside it appeared a Furret, a Normal Element with a long body, colored tan on the underside, except for brown rings along the tail, and brown fur along the back. Its ears were pointed a bit, and it arms and hands were small, colored brown at the tips, tan at the arms, and there were two brown marks below its black eyes.

"Se-VIPER!" cried out Seviper.

"Fu-u-urret!" shouted Furret.

"Ready, Blue?" said Resix.

"I couldn't be more! I choose you, Spheal!"

"And you, Houndour!"

Upon the field appeared a Spheal, a Water/Ice Element with blue coloring its round back and face, with white spots on the sides of it, a white-yellow belly and small arms, two white fangs, short, round ears, and a seal-like tail.

Beside it materialized a Houndour, a Fire/Dark Element with a black body and reddish-orange snout and underside, two silver half-rings across its back, a silver object on its forehead, silver rings right above its paws, and a dog-like tail.

"Spheal!"

"Houn-dour!"

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no substitutions or time limits.

May's Furret and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunts Resix's Houndour and Blusix's Spheal

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Seviper, use Bite attack!"

Seviper's mouth opened as its large fangs began to glow a dark color. He slithered toward Spheal, ready to bite down.

"Furret, use Take Down!"

Furret reared up onto its legs and then rushed forward towards Houndour. When the attack hit, Furret took a little bit of damage.

"Spheal, Icy Wind!"

"Houndour, Ember!"

Both Spheal and Houndour opened their mouths and breathed out several balls, Spheal's icy blue and Houndour's red. The attacks stopped Furret and Seviper.

"Grr..." Brendan growled.

"Furret, go! Use Take Down again!"

Furret dashed toward Houndour again.

"Ha! Houndour, use Flamethrower!"

Houndour blew out a large burst of fire, colored orange, red, and white.

"Furret, use Quick Attack to dodge!" May shouted.

With white light now trailing behind it, Furret sprinted into the... well, line of fire, but then dodged it all, running under Flamethrower. He struck Houndour from underneath, knocking the Dark/Fire Pokemon up a bit.

"And now finish with Thunderbolt!"

Furret's body began to glow a yellow light, and from the light shot out several lightning bolts. With the target coming down quickly, the Electric attack was critical, knocking out Houndour.

"AWESOME! Nice job, Furret!" May cheered.

"Fu-u-u-urret!" replied Furret, wagging its ears.

"Hmph..." muttered Resix, recalling his Pokemon. "You may have beaten my Houndour, but can you beat this? Let's go! GROWLITHE!"

Resix threw a Great Ball out onto the field, and from it popped out a Growlithe, a Fire Element with another canine body. Its fur was an orange color, and the under side and fluffy tail was yellow-brown in color. Several black streaks were across the Pokemon's orange fur, the claws on each foot were white, a tuft of yellow-brown hair was at the top of its head, and the nose was black.

"Grr... OWLITHE!" snarled Growlithe.

Suddenly, the green visor from my Snag Machine responded, and came up. It centered on Growlithe.

"Growlithe. Level 18. Fire Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"

Michael's Aura Reader responded as well, and after that, we both shouted:

"MAY! BRENDAN! GROWLITHE IS A SHADOW!"

The two looked at us and nodded.

May's Furret and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunts Resix's Growlithe and Blusix's Spheal

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Spheal, use Ice Beam!"

Spheal shot a thunderbolt-style blast of blue ice towards Seviper.

"Furret, guard Seviper with Protect!"

Furret dashed in front of Seviper and formed a golden shield in front of the two. Ice Beam deflected right off.

"Thanks, May." Brendan said.

"No problem! Furret, now use Take Down!"

Furret deformed the shield, and sprinted into Growlithe with large force, bringing Growlithe's HP down to a low green section. Of course... Furret was also hurt slightly, but what's Take Down without recoil?

"And Seviper, use Bite attack!" Brendan yelled.

Seviper's massive fangs began to glow a dark color as the Poison Element slithered towards Spheal, and then bit down. Once the attack was completed, Seviper returned to his position in front of Mr. Snow Top. (MWA-HA-HA-HA!)

"Spheal! Use Blizzard now!"

Spheal began to move, but was stopped suddenly as a look of fear came on its face.

"Huh?" Blusix said.

"HA! Bite must've made Spheal flinch!" Brendan gloated.

"Grr..." Spheal returned to its previous position.

"Humph... Growlithe, use Shadow Rush!"

Growlithe, glowing in a dark aura and having an evil smirk, slammed its canine body into Furret, delivering a heavy blow.

"Ah, Furret!" May cried. "Are you okay?"

"Furr..." Furret groaned, and then nodded. "Furret!"

"Okay... Good."

Back on the sidelines (The cave walls), I leaned against one of the stalagmites rising from the cave floor, closed my eyes, and thought:

'Why do those two care so much for their Pokemon? I know they're living animals, but come on! I think Pokemon are mostly just tools for battling and household chores! Wait a second, that's too Cipher-ish..."

"Something on your mind, laddie?" Michael asked, breaking my train of thought.

"Uh, no, Michael. Nothing. Just thinking to myself and speaking to my highly sophisticated brain."

A sweat drop slid down Michael's head, and he turned back to the battle.

'Now, let's see... I was about to figure out a way to defeat any of my comrades... I don't know why, but...' I thought...

Back to the battle.

"Furret, use Flamethrower!"

A flash of red, white, and orange light appeared from Furret's mouth, and once it opened, the Normal Element unleashed a blazing beam of fire towards Spheal. The attack hit, knocking the small Pokemon out.

"NO!" shrieked Blusix.

"Wow, May... What doesn't that thing know?" Brendan asked.

"Well... It's good for it to know other moves, in case we see a multi-Type trainer. My Delcatty knows a lot of strange moves, too!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Return, Spheal..." muttered Blusix. He took out Spheal's Ball and recalled the dual Pokemon with a red laser.

"It's up to you, Resix. Otherwise, Master Miror B. is going to be furious!"

"Oh, thanks for the extra pressure, Blue."

May's Furret and Brendan's Seviper vs. TMB Grunt Resix's Growlithe

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Furret, we're in the home stretch! Use Tackle!"

Furret rushed into Growlithe, bringing it into the yellows.

"Michael..." I said.

"What is it, lad?"

"Snagging Growlithe is possible now. Use this." I tossed him an Ultra Ball. I had picked it up before at Delma Pillar while no one was looking.

"Okay. Go..."

He held the yellow, black, and white sphere in the palm of his Snag Machine hand, and as it became surrounded by red energy, he tossed it and hit Growlithe. The Fire Pokemon was vacuumed into the now open Ultra Ball with a red beam. Once it was in, the Ball wiggled on the ground slightly, but soon stopped. Growlithe had been captured!

"Nice one, Michael." I said. As I went to pick up the Poke Ball, May grabbed it instead.

"I call it! And Grovyle!"

"No way May! I get 'em!" Brendan said.

"I believe I deserve them."

"NO WAY!"

"MINE!"

"THEY'RE BOTH MINE!"

"FORGET IT!"

Finally, I lost my temper. "**_Shut up!_**" I roared. The two stopped arguing and began to cling to each other at my outburst.

"We'll decide who gets them later, okay?" I placed the two Poke Balls into May's Poke Ball pouches on her hips. At this movement, May blushed.

"Pat... Never do that again." She said as the color of her face turned from pink to crimson.

"Ugh... Fine, May."

Suddenly, a growl erupted from where the two strongest Hexagon Bros. had been. In front of Resix (Blusix had run deeper into the cavern) was a Charmeleon. In the lizard-like Pokemon's mouth was a red, white, and orange ball of flames.

"I would suggest returning those Shadow Pokemon... Otherwise, someone will get burnt to a crisp with Flamethrower! And I mean... _The girl._"

A squeal of fright came from May as Charmeleon pointed its head towards her.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Brendan growled.

"Oh, I would."

"Grr...! IT'S GO TIME!"

"Brendan...!" I shouted. He stopped, and looked back at me.

"Let me handle this. Resix, I'll start by saying that _you disgust me._" My eyes began to flash a green color...

"Uh-oh..." May said worriedly.

"_Try to get your pitiful attack across. Just try!_"

Resix signaled for Charmeleon to release Flamethrower. It did, and a blast of fire came my way.

"NO! PAT!" cried May.

"NO!" exclaimed Brendan.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, LADDIE!" yelled Michael. But I stayed put...

Before the attack hit, I kneeled, and whipped my cloak so I was shielded. But instead of it being burnt to a crisp, the Fire attack was _reflected back_, and away from the scene.

"WHAT THE HECK!" screamed Resix.

"HUH!" cried my three comrades.

"_Ha-ha-ha... I put a layer of reflective, element-resistant rubber on my cloak._" I stood up from my kneeling position.

"_And now, Resix... For trying to harm one of us... **YOU MUST PAY THE PRICE!**_" My voice echoed throughout the cave as a large, super strong gust of wind entered from the opening. It whipped around Resix and formed a small tornado, and tossed him into the deeper parts of the cave.

"UGH! Ooh... I'm okay...!" he called out weakly. "AAH! WILD ZUBAT! HELP!"

A sweat drop dripped down my forehead, and my eyes turned to normal.

"Ugh..." I moaned, dropping to my knees.

"PAT!" May, Michael, and Brendan cried. They came towards me, and lifted up my weakened body.

"Are you okay? Every time you're in danger or get to... 'evil'..." May began.

"Your eyes flash an emerald color, and now..." Brendan added.

"You have some str-r-r-range wind power! Like now, when you summoned a whole _WINDSTORM!_" Michael exclaimed. (Hmm... That one word sounds familiar...)

"Yeah, I know... And I seriously don't know how I do it... Anyway..."

I stood up after my friends let go. And then we began to hear music...

"Oh, nuts..." groaned Michael.

"Oh yeah, baby!" I cheered.

A tall and thin person walked from the inner reaches of the cavern. This person wore purple pants, dark blue high-heeled (And he's a guy!) shoes with yellow-gold bottoms, a black belt with a large golden star in the middle, a black glove on his right hand, a yellow scarf around his neck, blue glasses, a purple shirt which was open to reveal his chest, and two small ear rings dangling from his ears (I don't really think that the whole boys-having-ear-rings thing is all that good or cool, but that's just me.) Oh, and did I mention the extreme, about _three-feet-in-diameter_ afro on his head? It had a zigzag down the middle, separating the red right side from the white left side.

"And here is The King of Disco, the Balled-Hair Man, the one and only... MIROR B.!" he shouted. "Oh, and what have we here? Three new pests and... WAH! MICHAEL!"

"Yes, I'm back, Miror B.! HA-HA!"

"And I thought I had strange hair..." Brendan sweat dropped.

"Well, Mister Miror B... A pleasure to meet someone who loves disco." I said.

"Ooh! We have two disrespectful people, and one person who like my hobbies! Anyway... We've lost track here. I've come to challenge one of you to a battle... Besides Michael." Miror B. said. His voice had a whiny tone... The voice behind the wall I heard.

"I'll take the challenge!" I shouted. May objected.

"Pat, you need to take it easy..."

"FORGET IT! Let's do this Miror B..."

"LET THE MUSIC PLAY!" we both shouted.

With that, several horns popped out from the cave walls, and they began to blare music... A disco beat.

"Let's go, Miror B.!" I shouted.

He began to jump backwards and do a midair split, as I spun furiously to my trainers' box, or where it would be.

"I choose you, Voltorb!" shouted Miror B.

From within a Poke Ball appeared a Voltorb.

"Volt-orb!" it droned.

"Hmm! Go, Diglett!"

I tossed a Great Ball out, and my newest Pokemon, Diglett, materialized.

"Dig!" it squeaked.

Battle statistics: This is a six-on-six battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Diglett vs. Team Miror B. Leader Miror B.

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Diglett, begin with Shadow Sky!"

Diglett released a dark beam of energy towards the ceiling, and a dark aura filled the "sky".

"Voltorb, use Sonicboom!"

Voltorb rolled back a bit, and then jumped up, landing with a loud roar. It released several vibrating strands of sound waves, toward Diglett, who was hit.

And then, the black energy balls from Shadow Sky rained down upon our Pokemon. Diglett felt nothing, but Voltorb's HP took a small blow. And of course, I shielded me with my cloak, and Miror B.'s afro took care of the problem.

"Now, Diglett! Use Magnitude!"

Diglett's face got a look of anger on it, and he began pushing up and down in his hole several times. A beam of brown energy was released in a circular form, with a golden number four rising above it.

"ONLY MAGNITUDE FOUR!" I yelled.

The Ground attack still did a large amount of damage to Voltorb, being super effective.

"GRR! Voltorb!" Miror B. whined.

"And now, Diglett, finish it off with Shadow Rush!"

Diglett became surrounded with a purple energy, and disappeared into his burrow. He reappeared in front of Voltorb, now having an evil smile. But before he hit...

"Voltorb! Selfdestruct!"

Voltorb began glowing in a white light, and then an explosion occurred, knocking out both Pokemon.

"Aw, man! Return, Diglett!"

"You too, Voltorb!"

We both held out our Pokemon's respective Balls, and they were recalled with a red beam of energy.

"Next up, Pikachu!" I shouted, and then did a disco spin to throw the Great Ball. From it burst bluish-white light, and Pikachu.

"Pi-ka-chu!" it said.

"Ha! Lombre!" yelled Miror B.

From a Poke Ball appeared a Lombre, a Water/Grass Element with a green, leaf-like dish on its head, a sea-green, slimy body with some parts colored green, sea green arms and hands with the same colored thumbs and red claws, green legs with red claws, and a red mark for a mouth.

"Lom-bre!" came its call.

My Pikachu vs. TMB Leader Miror B.'s Lombre

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Oh, Lombre! Use Rain Dance!"

Lombre nodded, and brought its arms above its head (Somehow without touching the leaf), where a blue sphere formed. It disappeared, and several gray clouds appeared above us, demolishing the Shadow Sky mist.

"Grr..." I growled. 'His Lombre must have the Rain Dish ability! No matter... I'll still defeat him!'

"Pikachu, use Light Screen!"

Pikachu waved its arms to create a shield of transparent light. It disappeared, but a green wave rose up around Pikachu, showing his increase in Special Defense, as well as my Poke Balls.

And then, the rain came down. But nothing happened, of course, except for the fact that it didn't stop.

'I thought the rain stopped for a while...' I thought.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

Pikachu's red cheeks began flashing with yellow electricity. With a sudden yell, Pikachu released a small lightning bolt towards Lombre, who was hit.

"Lombre, use Water Gun!"

Lombre opened its red mouth, and released a small blast of water toward Pikachu.

"Evade!" I yelled.

Pikachu simply dashed out of the way.

The rain made Lombre begin to glow blue for a moment, and his HP was healed slightly.

"Wait a second... Water conducts electricity, so... PIKACHU, USE THUNDER NOW!"

"YOW!" screamed Miror B.

Pikachu's cheeks flashed again, only this time he released a huge _wave _of electrical power in the form of a thunderbolt with several others branching off. The attack hit Lombre, causing him to faint with the one powerful attack.

"NO!"

"Nice, Pikachu." I said.

Miror B. pulled out his Pokemon's Ball, and then threw out another one; a Great Ball.

"Let's go, Sudowoodo!"

With a burst of light appeared a Sudowoodo, a Rock-Type Pokemon with a tree-like, brown body, an appendage coming from its head shaped like a brown "Y", and arms with three fingers, each having a green circle attached to them.

"Sudo-woodo!" it grunted.

My Pikachu vs. TMB Leader Miror B.'s Sudowoodo

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Sudowoodo, use Rock Slide!"

Sudowoodo began stomping his feet on the ground, and several rocks began to fall from a strange _rock peak_ (There I go again, italicizing words I didn't mean to. Like you really buy that.) near the field.

"Pikachu, break them up with Shadow Rush!"

Pikachu jumped up towards the falling rocks, with purple light trailing behind him, and an evil smirk plastered on his face. He spun in a vertical way, cracking all the stones and rocks apart, since they were softened by the falling rain.

"And now, use THUNDER!"

Now sparking with yellow electricity, Pikachu unleashed an enormous blast of Thunder onto Sudowoodo. The strong Electric attack hit critically, and was amazingly powerful enough to... KO Sudowoodo.

"WHAT!" cried Miror B.

"WHOA!" cried out May, Brendan, and Michael.

"I guess the bits of stone from the rocks Pikachu broke must've, uh, hit Sudowoodo, causing slight damage. Plus... THE RAIN IS WATER, AND SUDOWOODO IS A ROCK ELEMENT YOU IDIOT!"

Miror B. uttered a growl, and recalled his fallen Pokemon.

"Go, Ludicolo!"

From a Poke Ball thrown by my opponent appeared a Ludicolo, a Water/Grass Element with green arms and legs, a yellow duckbill-like mouth, a green diamond over the mouth where the eyes were, yellow hair or fur over the body, and a green sombrero-like object on its head. Placed in the center was a pineapple.

"Ludicolo!" shouted Ludicolo as he danced to the beat of the disco music.

"Try beating that, Pat!" Miror B. gloated.

My Pikachu vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Ludicolo

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Okay, Pikachu! Shadow Rush!"

Pikachu ran towards Ludicolo, with purple light trailing behind him, and an evil smirk on his face. The Electric Mouse slammed its tail into Ludicolo, causing a major amount of damage.

"And now, THUNDER AGAIN!"

Pikachu fell to its feet, and sent out another blast of electricity. Being within close range, Ludicolo was hit critically, and so he flopped over, fainted.

"Oh, yeah!" I cheered.

"Grr..." Miror B. growled.

"Well, Miror B., don't get your hair in a ball. Oh, wait. IT IS A BALL! HA-HA-HA-HA!" I mocked.

Miror B. recalled his Ludicolo, and brought out his next Pokemon.

"Another Ludicolo!" he yelled.

With a flash of light appeared a Ludicolo.

"Ludi!" it grunted.

"Another?" May sweat-dropped.

"He had five when I fought him in Gateon Port... But his Shadow Pokemon... I couldn't Snag." Michael said quietly.

"YOU? Well... What was the Pokemon?" Brendan asked.

Michael simply turned away.

My Pikachu vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Ludicolo (Gee, that sounds familiar.)

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Ludicolo, use Mega Drain!"

Ludicolo opened its mouth to form a small green ball of energy. Then, several streams of the same stuff beamed out of Pikachu into the ball. The attack brought Pikachu's HP into the yellows.

"Grr... Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"

My Electric Element stood up from the Mega Drain, and his cheeks flashed with electricity again. A smaller blast of lightning came out, lowering Ludicolo's HP.

"Hmph..." Miror B. huffed. The rain came down, but Ludicolo didn't flash green...

"If only this one had Rain Dish..." he muttered.

"HA! Pikachu, now use Quick Attack!"

With white light trailing behind him, Pikachu dashed towards Ludicolo. But, the Grass/Water Element sprinted out of the way!

"It has Swift Swim, which doubles its Speed in rain!" I realized.

"That's right. AND NOW, LUDICOLO! Hydro Pump!"

Ludicolo opened its mouth more, and shot out two blasts of water, twisting around each other. They hit Pikachu, and the strong Water move KO'd it... _finally._

"Finally, Miror B.!" I shouted, then brought out Pikachu's Ball and recalled it.

"Here's my third Pokemon... Aerodactyl!"

With the toss of a Poke Ball and a flash of light, Aerodactyl materialized on the field.

"ROOOOOOOO!" he roared.

My Aerodactyl vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Ludicolo

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Ludicolo, use Fury Swipes!"

Sharp claws appeared on Ludicolo's hands as he neared Aerodactyl, preparing to slash. Miror B. didn't notice... _the rain had stopped_.

"Aerodactyl, use Wing Attack!"

Aerodactyl's wings became illuminated in white light, and he swooped down towards the oncoming Ludicolo.

"Dodge!" Miror B. yelled. His Pokemon tried to evade, but wasn't fast enough. The super effective Flying attack knocked out the Water/Grass dual.

"NO!"

"Ha-ha!" I laughed joyfully.

Recalling his fallen Ludicolo, Miror B. uttered a snarl. "Listen, _Patty_, you may have beaten my other five, but this one... YOU WON'T! I CHOOSE LOMBRE!"

Miror B. threw another Poke Ball out, and a Lombre appeared.

"Lom-bre!"

And then... My visor responded.

"Lombre. Level 21. Water/Grass Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"A Shadow Pokemon!" I shouted.

My Aerodactyl vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Lombre

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Let's go, Lombre! Water Gun!"

Lombre opened its red mouth and unleashed a small beam of water towards Aerodactyl. The Water attack caused super effective damage.

"Aerodactyl, use the Return attack!"

Aerodactyl began glowing a faint white color, and flapped over to Lombre. He slashed furiously with his wings, and several hearts appeared within the slashing.

"Huh. Lombre, use Shadow Rush!"

Lombre, once recovered from the Return attack, began to smirk evilly, as well as having a dark purple haze behind him, tackled into Aerodactyl, causing another super effective blow to the Rock/Flying mix.

"Grr..." I growled.

"And now, finish it off with Water Pulse!" Miror B. yelled.

A shining ball of blue water gathered in Lombre's mouth, and it shot out in the form of three watery rings. They hit Aerodactyl, and laid down the finishing blow, KO'ing the Pokemon.

"Grr... I went easy. I'm still getting heated up!" I shouted.

"WARMED UP!" corrected May and Brendan.

"Uh... Heated up seems better, because Pat's... Getting mad." Michael mumbled, seeing the angry look on my face.

"Next up, is you: Gastly!"

I threw out a Poke Ball, and Gastly appeared on the field.

"Gastly..." it moaned.

My Gastly vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Lombre

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, use Lick!"

Gastly began to float towards Lombre with its tongue outstretched.

"Lombre, hit it with Shadow Rush!"

Lombre rammed into Gastly with a purple aura and an evil smile. Since Gastly was rather weak, he fainted immediately.

"WHAT?" I cried.

"Ho-ha!" laughed Miror B.

"Uh-oh..." Brendan said quietly.

"He doesn't have a good chance..." Michael said.

"Oh, come on, you two! Go, Pat!" May cheered.

My gaze didn't come off of the battle. Recalling Gastly, I muttered with gritted teeth:

"This time... My Pokemon will be triumphant..."

With the toss of an Ultra Ball, I summoned Elekid to the field.

"Elekid!" it grunted.

My Elekid vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Lombre

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Go, Elekid! Shadow Rush!"

Beginning to run towards Lombre, a purple haze enveloped Elekid, and a smirk appeared on his face. As he sped up, his arms circled around.

"Lombre, use Water Gun!"

Lombre shot out another blast of blue water, which caused damage and stopped Elekid's attack!

"Elekid! Use Thundershock now!"

Waving its arms, Elekid generated sparks of electricity, which shot out as one thin bolt. The weak attack hit Lombre, bringing its HP down a little more.

"Lombre, retaliate with Giga Drain!"

Between its palms, Lombre formed a green energy ball. Another formed in front of Elekid, and several streams of energy floated from Elekid's to Lombre's. Half the HP taken off of Elekid healed Lombre, meaning... It was fully healed. Know why? _ELEKID WAS KNOCKED OUT!_

"Aw, man! I thought my Pokemon could last longer..." I said in a half mutter as I recalled Elekid.

"Here comes my last Pokemon... CROCONAW!" I spun this time to throw out the Poke Ball containing my Pokemon.

"Croc-o-naw!"

'Please don't whine... please don't cry... please DO battle...' I thought.

And you won't believe it! Croconaw began to cry furiously, Anime style.

"ARGH!" I groaned.

"Ho-ho-ho! Looks like your Croconaw doesn't want to battle!" laughed Miror B.

"_CROCONAW! EVERY TIME I USE YOU YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT! I DO NOT APPROVE! **STOP YOUR CRYING AND FIGHT!**_" I roared, each word dripping with venom and exasperation.

This only made Croconaw cry harder...

"Grr...! If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a Pokemon who WON'T FIGHT!" As my anger and stress began to reach its maximum levels, my eyes... began to flash again.

"Oh no." Brendan said.

"No!" Michael cried out.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, PAT!" May shouted.

For the first time, my eyes became an emerald color twice in one day. One HOUR! And of course, so did Croconaw's.

"_Miror B., you shall now taste the wrath... of my SKY HIGH power!_" (Okay, anyone with a 5th Generation Pokemon game should know what the "master" Legendary is gonna be!)

'Wait a second... Sky High?' pondered Brendan.

"_Croconaw... LETS FINISH HIM OFF!_" I roared. Several nearly invisible green waves of energy pulsed from my body...

My Croconaw vs. TMBL Miror B.'s Lombre

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Uh... Lombre, use Shadow Rush?" said Miror B. in a frightened tone.

With purple energy flowing behind it and a smirk on its face, Lombre came toward Croconaw in a ramming position.

"_Croconaw, use Scratch to stop it!_"

Croconaw ran towards Lombre, and once the two met, the pure Water Element held out his claws and slashed Lombre, stopping his Shadow Rush.

"_And then use Crunch!_"

With dark-glowing teeth, Croconaw jumped towards Lombre and bit down on it, lowering its HP more.

"Grr! Lombre, use Razor Leaf!"

After it recovered from Crunch, Lombre brought its arms out, and swung them out, throwing several crescent-shaped leaves towards the still close-range Croconaw. They hit the crocodile-like Pokemon, causing major damage.

"_Hmph... Croconaw, use Water Gun._" I said calmly.

Opening its mouth for the five-millionth time, Croconaw shot a blast of water into Lombre's green face. Its HP dipped into the yellows, so it was time...

"_SNAG BALL, GO!_" I yelled, throwing an Ultra Ball with a red aura. It tapped Lombre, and sucked him inside with red light. The Ultra Ball fell to the floor of the cave and wiggled around furiously. After about a minute, it stopped. Lombre had been Snagged.

"_Ha. I defeated you, Miror B. So that means... STOP THE MUSIC! HA-HA-HA!_" I laughed. I walked into the field and picked up Lombre's Ball, and recalled Croconaw.

"_I... _Ugh... I-I'll take it... Ooh..." My eyes returned to normal again, and the strange, pulsing, green energy disappeared.

"NO! You messed up my rhythm! Grr... Next time we meet I'll mop the floor with you, using my elegance! Come, Hexagon Brothers! We must escape!" Miror B. ran out of the cave, and the Hexagon Brothers followed after cutting off the music.

I stuffed the used Ultra Ball into my pocket as May, Michael, and Brendan came up.

"Pat, what happened this time, lad? You nearly lost it!" Michael said.

"Eh, I don't know. I still won."

"Tr-r-rue... Anyway, I got to admit, your attitude was a bit like a Cipher member. I didn't like that!"

My eyes, which had been closed, opened at what Michael had said.

"About Lombre, Pat, I guess you can keep it. You need at least some good Pokemon to be as strong as me!" Brendan gloated.

"Yeah. _Whatever._" I muttered, then walked out of the cave.

"Was it something I said?"

"Actually, Brendan... He became slightly tense when I said something about a Cipher-ish attitude..." said Michael quietly.

"Huh... Probably hates Cipher a lot."

"Don't we all, lad?"

"Uh, Pat! What about your acrophobi..." May started to shout, seeing me near the cave's entrance.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" came my scream, which finished off what May was saying. ("Acrophobi..." "AAAAAAAAAH!")

"Oh, boy..." the three groaned.

They looked down the mountain to see me down on a flat plateau.

"I'm okay..." I groaned. "Except for the broken leg, neck, arms, head, mouth... I'm alright."

"At the mouth, we can rejoice..." Brendan muttered.

"I HEARD THAT!"

PM: Well, here's the unexpected Chapter! MWA-HA-HA! Maybe all the email stuff was wierd, I know. By the way, I think I made a small mistake; in Chapter Four I think, I made a new Mode (Like Hyper/Reverse), Mega Mode. But in Chapter 5/6, I called it Reverse. To save my brain confusion, I shall refer to it as Reverse Mode. I am sorry for this. And let's see... Do I have to say this is the longest Chapter in Patinator history? NOPE! The record is 189, and this is about 187! Kinda neck-and-neck, huh?


	8. Chapter 8

PM: And here's the next Chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 8:

Pyrite's Forecast Calls for a 100 Chance of Cipher

The day following the invasion of Miror B.'s temporary hideout, I had gotten one email from Michael and one _million _from Lovrina... I didn't open the ones from Ms. Flirt-a-Lot, and read the sole important email. (I won't get into details about Lovrina's emails.)

_Pat,_

_I've just gotten word that a few certain shady characters have invaded Pyrite! I'm tied up at the HQ Lab, so you and the others need to go! I've sent you a full map of Orre, as an attachment._

_Michael_

I looked at the map attachment. It was a virtual, yet 3-dimensional map of the Orre Region, with zoom-in and out options.

Since we were back in Gateon Port, I didn't have a very hard time finding my in-love partners. Using the moveable bridges, I got up to the top of the lighthouse, and found the two hugging each other.

"Hi there, May and Brendan!" I shouted. The shout must've startled them, because they nearly fell over the edge!

"PAT! You scared us!" Brendan yelled.

"YEAH!" May agreed.

"We nearly fell off!"

"YEAH!"

"And what are you doing up here?"

"YEAH!"

"May! Quit saying 'YEAH', would you?" I asked.

"YEAH! I-I mean..."

I let the two know about Cipher's invasion in Pyrite.

"Well, let's go." Brendan said. He and May went into the elevator. I decided to take the stairs, because we'd all be squished, since it has a two-person limit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

We split up outside of Gateon. May went to Agate to buy a few more Scents, and Brendan and I proceeded to Pyrite. I had given May instructions to get to Pyrite from her location, so we had no worry of the female getting lost.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After about a few minutes' ride, Brendan and I made it to Pyrite Town. Everywhere the dirt was red-brown, there was some graffiti, and we even saw a graffiti artist at work!

And then, we saw a bald someone with his attire consisting of a black, red-marked headband that only went halfway around the head, a red, sleeveless vest over a black tank top, black gloves with long wrists, black pants and boots, and a black belt. This person also had menacing olive eyes, and was messing with someone in a very dark-green outfit, with two orange bands on the legs and two light green bands on the wrists, black or dark-green boots, green hair, and orange goggles on his head.

"Yo, buddy, quit picking on me." said the green-attired person.

"Not until you gimme your wallet! Your wallet or your life!" shouted back the bald-headed man.

"What's going on here?" I asked, stepping into the brawl-waiting-to-happen.

"Kid, you'd better scram before I tell your mommy!" growled the bald one.

"Oh, really, Baldy? Maybe you'd still like to say that after a battle!" I picked out an Ultra Ball from my belt.

"Are you crazy? I'll have you beat before a wolf could howl! Let's go, Gloom!" he shouted.

From a Poke Ball tossed out appeared a Gloom, a Grass/Poison Element having a plump blue body, red petals coming from its head, and a darker-colored, white spotted "flower" on its head. (It looked more like a lump or four.) It had purple lips, with a white, smelly liquid oozing out of its mouth.

"Gloom..." it said.

"Go, Lombre!" I shouted.

I threw the Ultra Ball, and out came Lombre.

"Lom-bre!" it called out.

'Wait a... Gloom?' I thought. 'WHOA! He's from Team Snagem!'

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Lombre vs. Team Snagem member's Gloom

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gloom, start off with Sunny Day!"

Gloom positioned its arms to form an orange orb. It disappeared, and the sunlight brightened by several times.

'Oh, yeah, the old 'Sunny-Beam' tactic!' I thought sarcastically.

"Lombre, use Ice Beam!"

The Water/Grass Element opened its red mouth and there formed an icy blue sphere. From it blasted a thunderbolt style beam, which beamed out onto Gloom, causing the dual Pokemon to lose HP severely.

"Oh, yeah? Gloom, use Solarbeam!"

Gloom opened its mouth and formed another glowing sphere, this time colored greenish yellow. Instead of charging, it immediately shot out in the form of a white, green-outlined beam.

"Lombre, dodge it and use Shadow Rush!"

Lombre ducked under the beam, and then rammed into Gloom once the blast stopped, followed by a dark purple haze, also having an evil smirk. The super effective Shadow move took Gloom out.

"W-W-W-W-WHAT!" screamed the Snagem member. "Shadow Rush is a Shadow move! That means... AAH! I'D BETTER TELL THE BOSS!" He recalled his fainted Pokemon, ran out of Pyrite, and the sun became normal. He had dropped several slips of money, which I picked up. It was a total of 550.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha..." I laughed after recalling my Pokemon, tossing the Ball up in my left hand.

"Thank you, dude. I could've handled him myself, but thanks. I'm Cail; glad to meet you." said the green-attired trainer.

"Hello, Cail. The name is Pat." I shook Cail's hand.

"And I'm Brendan." said Brendan. (DUH.)

"Yeah, hey Brendan. I'm the Gatekeeper, you could say, of Pyrite." Cail noticed my Snag Machine. "Hey, wait a minute... Two people in the past battled me, both having a thing like that on their arm... Named Wes and Michael... AND WES STOLE ONE OF MY POKEMON!"

"It was a Shadow Pokemon, Cail. Created by Cipher."

"Oh, yeah. Well, if you need any help here, just talk to me! Although..." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "I'm not gonna let you through without a battle!" Cail pulled out two Poke Balls.

"Well... I suppose I would like a challenge." I said, taking out two Balls from my belt.

"Two-on-two?" I asked.

"Nah, four-on-four. Let's go! Machop and Ralts!" Cail lobbed his Poke Balls into the air, and out came a Machop.

"Ma-chop!" it grunted, showing of its muscles.

Beside it appeared a Ralts, a Psychic Element with green hair over its eyes and white head, two red crests coming through the hair, a white, dress-like body, and two arms.

"Ralt!" it squealed.

On my side appeared, from the Balls thrown, Diglett and Croconaw.

"Dig-ig!" grunted Diglett.

"Croconaw!" growled Croconaw. Know what it did next? It ran over to me and clutched my legs.

"This happens every time..." Brendan sweat dropped.

"Oh... how embarrassing..." Cail groaned.

"Croconaw, battle. Now. Otherwise, I'll have to... Uh... TORMENT YOU! And don't cry for the next, like, five battles, or else."

Croconaw, hearing the word torment, hopped away from me and onto the field.

"CROCONAW!" it roared ferociously.

"I'm not falling for that, you know!"

"Croc..." A sweat drop dripped down the Water Element's head.

Battle statistics: This is a four-on-four double battle with no substitutions or time limits.

My Croconaw and Diglett vs. Cail's Ralts and Machop

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Machop, use Bulk Up! Ralts, use Calm Mind!"

Machop drew in a deep breath and bulged its muscles, increasing its Attack and Defense. Ralts got in a meditative position for a moment, increasing its Special Attack and Special Defense.

"Nice, Cail! But not nice enough! Diglett, use Shadow Rush and Croconaw use Aerial Ace!"

Diglett retreated into its hole with a dark aura, and reemerged in front of Ralts and tackled it. Meanwhile, Croconaw jumped into the air and disappeared. When it reappeared, it was slicing Machop with its sharp claws. Machop and Ralts' HP took a large nose-dive into the low greens.

"Excellent!"

"Heh... It takes more than that to beat the Gatekeeper of Pyrite! Ralts, use Confusion! Machop, use Karate Chop!"

With its hidden eyes now glowing a blue color, Ralts unleashed a beam of multicolored rainbow energy towards Diglett, who was hit by the attack. Machop jumped towards Croconaw and tried to hit it with a white-glowing, flat hand, but each time Croconaw dodged.

"Ha! Nice, Croconaw! When you get chance, use Strength!"

Croconaw nodded, and dodged the next barrage.

"Okay, Diglett! Use Shadow Rush!"

Diglett sunk back into his hole, followed by a purple haze. He reemerged, along with a new hole, behind Ralts, and tackled the small Psychic Pokemon. The perfectly executed Shadow attack KO'd Ralts.

"Gah! Return, Ralts!" Cail cried out, and recalled his Pokemon.

"Well, time for my second Pokemon!" Cail held out another Ball, a Great Ball.

"Let's go, Houndour!" He tossed the Great Ball into the air, and a Houndour appeared on the field.

"DOUR!" it roared, and then sprouted some flames into the air.

"Cool!" Brendan exclaimed at the "fireworks" display. At that time, May had arrived on the scene.

"Hey, Brendan..." she gasped, apparently out of breath.

"Hey, May! What happened?" asked the white-haired Trainer.

"Well, I guess those scooter things need batteries, 'cause about three-quarters of the way here it quit on me... I walked the rest... And of course by the time I got here, I had used one of the Vivid Scent colognes because I was... SO DARN SWEATY!"

"Ew..."

Anyway, as the two explained what had been going on in the last hour or so, I continued battling.

My Diglett and Croconaw vs. Cail's Houndour and Machop

BATTLE COMMENCE!

Machop had stopped with all his Karate Chopping, and so Croconaw bashed his head into the Fighting Element to deliver a Strength attack.

"Great, Croconaw!"

"Grr...! Houndour, use Flamethrower!" Cail growled.

Houndour brought back its head, opened its jaws, and released a small spark of fire that soon beamed out as a large blast, onto Diglett. The powerful Fire attack whittled down its HP to the low yellows!

"Better end this quick... And Croconaw has one attack that can get me out of this like that. Croconaw, attack with Surf!"

Croconaw waved its arms about slowly, forming a large body of water behind him. He opened his mouth, and with the mad flicking of his tongue, released an enormous wave onto Machop and Houndour. They both fainted, since one was weak to Water and the other had low HP.

"Aw, man! Return, guys!" Cail cried out, and recalled his two fallen Pokemon.

'Time for my last one...' he thought as he clutched another Poke Ball.

"I choose you... Pidgeotto!"

The red and white sphere was thrown out horizontally, and out came a Pidgeotto, a Normal/Flying-Type with a cream-colored underside, pink feet with white claws, a pink beak, red and yellow tail feathers, a tan-colored back, black markings on its face around its eye, and long, reddish-pink streamer-like head feathers. White claws were on the feet of the somewhat graceful bird.

"Geo!" it chirped.

"Wow... A Pidgeotto!" I gasped.

My Croconaw and Diglett vs. Cail's Pidgeotto

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Pidgeotto! Use Wing Attack!"

The dual-element Bird Pokemon made a fast ascent into the air, and it came down towards Croconaw with its wings outspread and glowing white, which hit Croconaw with extreme force.

"Aw, man!" I exclaimed, and then switched to thought: 'That's one powerful canary he's got!'

"Grr... Croconaw, use Ice Beam! Diglett, use Shadow Rush!"

Diglett disappeared into his hole, and reappeared under Pidgeotto with an evil smirk and a purple aura. He tried to hit the Flying/Normal Element, but was TOO SHORT TO HIT PIDGEOTTO, SINCE IT WAS AIRBORNE!

After that, Croconaw opened its gator-sized and gator-_like _mouth to form an icy blue sphere. A lump appeared on one side, and it shot out in the zigzag form of a thunderbolt. I was hoping the attack would bring Pidgeotto down, being super effective, but it didn't quite. It brought down only its HP, into the low yellows.

"Well, that's a start." I mumbled.

"Pidgeotto, use Steel Wing!"

Pidgeotto made the same motions as with Wing Attack, only the wings of the flyable creature shone a metallic grayish color, and it hit Diglett.

"And then use Aerial Ace!"

A cloud of dust was kicked up as Pidgeotto flew into thin air. It was only a few seconds later that he reappeared, slashing with his beak at the still recovering Diglett, who fainted from the heavy assault.

"Diglett! Return!" I cried, and recalled my Pokemon.

"That was a great combo, Cail. But this time... My Pokemon will be victorious." My voice deepened slightly.

"DON'T YOU GO ALL WINDY AND EMERALD-EYE COLOR ON US!" Brendan yelled.

"Relax, I did that on purpose. It's time... GASTLY!"

My Gastly appeared on the field from a Poke Ball I had thrown.

"Ga-a-a-astly..." it moaned.

"Knucklehead! That thing won't affect my Pidgeotto!" Cail laughed.

"_Ghost _attacks won't. But what about Poison?"

My Croconaw and Gastly vs. Cail's Pidgeotto

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, use Curse!"

Gastly emitted a dark-gray aura, and then the same color enveloped Pidgeotto. While Gastly's HP made a nose-dive to the half-point, Pidgeotto would lose several HP every once in a while.

"No!" Cail exclaimed. "Uh... Pidgeotto, use... Ah... Faint Attack!"

Pidgeotto flew up, and disappeared in a flash of purple light. It was a moment later that he appeared, tackling into Gastly with a super effective attack. The Ghost/Poison Pokemon fainted. But as he dropped down to the ground, a pained squawk erupted from Pidgeotto's beak. It seemed that Curse had taken effect at that moment.

"Grr... Return, Gastly!" I held up his Ball and recalled Gastly.

"Well, Cail, you're pretty good to get me down to my final two. But... IT ENDS HERE! I choose you, Aerodactyl!"

I threw another Poke Ball out, and Aerodactyl appeared with a loud squawk.

"Heh-heh... Flying vs. Flying... A true aerial battle will soon commence!" Cail shouted. (That's the second time someone nearly/did steal my line!)

My Croconaw and Aerodactyl vs. Cail's Pidgeotto

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack on Aerodactyl!"

With an aerial ascent, Pidgeotto swooped down towards Aerodactyl with lightly illuminated wings. The Flying attack didn't do much, since Aerodactyl was part Rock.

"WHAT?" cried my opponent.

"Haven't you ever been in Kanto, ya numbskull?" I asked in an annoyed tone. "Aerodactyl is part ROCK! So that means... Use Rock Slide!"

Aerodactyl opened its large jaws and lifted its gray wings, and several rocks flew out of the ground, and towards Pidgeotto. The super effective move weakened Pidgeotto's stamina severely. And then Curse took effect, subtracting the little remaining HP the Normal/Flying Element had. Cail recalled his fallen Pokemon, and uttered:

"Gwoh!"

I chuckled and recalled Croconaw and Aerodactyl. Cail walked over to me and shook my hand.

"You're good, kid. You gotta be to beat Cail, Gatekeeper of Pyrite! Ha-ha-ha!" He also fished into a pocket and pulled out several Pokemon Dollars.

"Here. 1000 Pokemon Dollars." There was one dark gold 500, and the rest was in yellow 100's.

"Uh, Cail, it's a little much."

He pulled me closer with a jerk. "Give about 3 or 400 to that beautiful girl in red over there." he whispered.

"Uh, no. She's taken."

"Man, are you lucky!"

"I mean by Bleachy Boy!"

"Oh... Well, you can take it." The green-clad trainer walked off to somewhere.

"Heh-heh... Well, another victory! Or two!" I cheered.

"Nice going Pat!" May congratulated.

"Yes, yes. Thank you. But now we have a small problem... There's no Center in Pyrite. Only two or three healing machines!"

"Shouldn't they at least have a hotel or something for Pokemon?" Brendan asked.

"No. They used to, but I looked around while battling and didn't see one!"

"So... WE'RE GONNA TAKE ON CIPHER WITHOUT HEALING OUR POKEMON EVERY SO OFTEN!" May yelled.

"Well... I have an idea. We don't have much money, or at least you guys don't..."

"And you do?" Brendan scowled.

"Eh, I have secret funds from certain people..." Lovrina popped into my mind for a minute. "Anyway, they're expensive, but for 1500 apiece we can buy Revives at the Pokemon Mart!"

We walked from our location and to the Mart.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Seven Revives, two Hyper Potions, and several Full Heals later, we advanced towards the ONBS building. ONBS stood for (I'm not actually sure, and I'm a Pokemon XD expert!) Orre News Broadcasting Station, but of course nothing was going on... To their knowledge. After all, THEY WERE TAKEN OVER BY CIPHER!

Before we could go in though, several weird, purple globs of poisonous material were hurled at us. I looked up at the top of the white ONBS building to see a Muk, a Poison Element with a large purple body that was clearly boneless, as it was just like a pile of sludge with two eyes and arms, and a large mouth containing a light purple tongue.

Several more globs of Poison came our way.

"YUCK!" May screamed as one oval-like sphere hit her in the face and covered her head. "GROSS! IT'S SLUDGE BOMB!"

A muffled voice came. "Yeah, I can see that. BUT NOTHING ELSE!" It was Brendan, who also had a head covered in sludge.

Several grunts came from me, for I was skillfully dodging it all with stiff, robot-like moves.

"Oh, that's it! Cloak time!" I yelled, and whipped out my cloak. May and Brendan crawled behind me and the garment while de-Sludge Bombing their heads.

"Okay, I'm getting frustrated here." Brendan growled. "If we go out, we get sludge-ified, but if we stay like this, Pat will cramp up and we can't save the ONBS people!"

"Hmm... Well, I have an idea..." I said evilly. I placed a Poke Ball on the ground, and Aerodactyl came out.

"Ro-dactyl!" it roared.

"I'll need our smallest Pokemon, which would be your Eevee, May." I added.

She released the Normal Element, and my plan took action!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I gave my cloak to the other two so they could protect themselves, while I flew up to the roof with Aerodactyl. May's Eevee was on the nose of him, and was using Protect. The golden barrier destroyed the incoming Sludge Bomb, and when it needed to stop, Aerodactyl hovered in the air and used the barrier-forming attack.

It took three minutes, but we finally made it up. With a powerful quartet of Dragonbreath attacks, I defeated the Muk who belonged to a Cipher Grunt, and returned to my comrades.

"Nothing to worry about now." I announced. "Another crisis defused." I blew on my hand and rubbed it on my chest. "Brilliantly, I might add."

"Ah, come on, Pat!" Brendan shouted. He and May were waiting at the now open door.

"Grr... Can't a guy gloat when he deserves it...?" I muttered, and went in, closing the silver door behind me.

However, behind a small mound of dirt was a person with spiky yellow hair, who had watched the events from there.

"...Pat?" he pondered. "...Hmm... Is it possible that it's... him...?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In the front of the first floor was a desk, and on it was a Shroomish.

"Oh, man! Megg's Shroomish!" I cried.

"Megg? Are you in a secret relationship, Pat?" May asked.

"NO! It's just, she's the person at this desk. This Shroomish is hers."

"Shroom..." the mushroom-like Pokemon moaned sadly.

"Hey, Shroomish..." I said quietly.

"SHROOM!"

"Hey, hey, quit it!" The Grass Element began to Tackle me. "I'm here to help you!"

He stopped hitting me and resumed his position at the desk.

"Come along with me if you want, and you can help save Megg."

"Shroom? Shroom!" Shroomish replied happily, and jumped onto my shoulder.

"I got a new partner!" I cheered. The others had already advanced into the building further, behind a locked door.

"GRR! OPEN UP!" Brendan growled, banging the door.

"Not till you say please! Ha-ha-ha!" laughed a voice.

Pretty soon, Brendan slid down the door in exhaustion.

"Well, I have an idea..." May smirked. In a cute (-er) voice, she said:

"I you let us in, I could give you a hug."

"YUCK! I'M A GIRL, FOR PETE'S SAKE!"

"AHH! I TAKE IT BACK!"

I sighed at their stupidity.

"I have a better idea. Better than banging, and FLIRTING! The only thing that's getting through that door is a battering ram, or a tank or something."

"Oh, that helps..." Brendan muttered.

"Grr... I have the next best thing..." I brought out a Poke Ball, and released Croconaw.

"Croc!" it growled.

"Okay, Croconaw! Use Double-Edge on that door!"

My Water Pokemon nodded its crocodilian head, and then slammed its body into the silver metal object with extreme force. Amazingly, it busted open on the first hit.

"Excellent! Return!" I shouted, and recalled the door-opener. A female Cipher Grunt stood in the middle of the room, with several cameramen and other people cowering behind her.

"Aha! We've blown your cover, Cipher Grunt! Get outta here!" I yelled at her.

"Grr... LET'S BATTLE!" She tossed out two Great Balls, and out came a Growlithe and a Combusken, a Fire/Fighting Element with a yellow upper body and arms, long white claws on its hands, smaller foot claws, an orange lower body, beak, and eyes, and three head-feathers with yellow inner color and an orange outside.

"Growlithe!"

"Com...BUSKEN!"

And then my Snag Machine's Shadow Detector responded.

"Combusken. Level 21. Fire/Fighting Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"GRR! HOW CAN THEY TURN A POOR COMBUSKEN INTO A SHADOW POKEMON!" May snarled.

"You're just saying that because you got a Torchic starter..." Brendan mumbled.

"Grr!"

While the two argued, I released Gastly and Lombre.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Lombre and Gastly vs. Cipher Grunt Naday's (I know that her name wasn't revealed, but get used to it; it'll happen more often.) Growlithe and Combusken

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Growlithe, begin with Leer!"

Growlithe focused its frown onto Lombre and Gastly, and its eyes glowed red for a minute, reducing their Defense.

"It'll take more than that, you foolish feminine flop! Lombre, use Shadow Rush!"

With an evil purple aura, Lombre slammed into Growlithe, causing a super effective hit.

"And now, Gastly, use Shadow Ball!"

(For those who aren't experienced with Pokemon attacks, Shadow Ball and Shadow Punch are not Shadow Moves, just to clarify.)

Forming a black sphere of mysterious energy, Gastly shot out the ball towards Combusken, who took the hit and some minor damage.

"Combusken, use Ember on that Lombre!"

Combusken opened its beak and let out several orange-hot spheres of fire toward Lombre.

"Dodge, Lombre!"

Lombre hopped out of Ember's path.

"And now, Lombre, use Shadow Rush on Growlithe! Gastly, use Sludge Bomb!"

Lombre once again slammed its purple-illuminated body into Growlithe while smirking, and Gastly unleashed several purple globs of poisonous energy. The combined power of the attacks KO'd Growlithe!

"Grr..." growled my opponent as she recalled her Growlithe.

"I still have my Shadow Pokemon!"

My Gastly and Lombre vs. CG Naday's Combusken

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"This time _I _go first! Combusken, use Shadow Rush!"

Combusken crouched into a fighting position, with its arm bent and his hand in a fist, and jumped towards Gastly with purple-black light trailing behind him. With one quick but powerful punch, Combusken had... _knocked out Gastly!_

"Oh, man!" Brendan gasped.

"..." I looked at what had just come about. "_That _is some high Attack power." I recalled Gastly, and hoped Lombre would last.

My Lombre vs. CG Naday's Combusken

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Lombre, use Astonish!"

Lombre simply rammed into Combusken with a sudden jump.

"Ha... Combusken, use Shadow Rush!"

Combusken began to bring back a fist, but suddenly stopped with a look of fear.

"YES! It flinched!" I cheered. "Lombre, use Fury Swipes!"

Using its red claws, Lombre slashed at Combusken several times, delivering a total of four hits, draining Combusken's HP to the high yellows.

"Follow up with Mega Drain!"

Lombre put his hands in front of its body, where a green sphere formed. With a sucking sound, energy of the same color streamed from Combusken and into the strange sphere, healing some small bits of the Water/Grass Element's HP.

"And now, Snag Ball..." I shouted as I clutched a now red-highlighted Great Ball.

"GO!" I threw the sphere towards Combusken, who was touched by it and vacuumed up with red energy. The Ball fell to the floor, shook violently for several seconds, and then ceased.

"_Finnissimo! _You are finished, mademoiselle!" I taunted. (Did I get any of that French stuff right? I wouldn't really know.)

The Cipher Grunt hopped out of an open window in the room as I recalled Lombre.

"Well... Combusken is MINE! No objections!"

"Objection!" May cried.

"...Overruled." A sweat drop slid down my face.

Some of the people in the room cheered for me and my victory.

"Hey, I got that on tape, too!" cried one.

"I am most impressed!" shouted another.

"Even Michael wasn't that awesome, dude! Like, wow and totally!"

By now, May and Brendan had dragged me out of the room, and into the elevator.

But in the room was the same blond-haired person from outside...

"Maybe that is Pat..." he mumbled, then hopped out of the window...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next floor was within our sights and when we got off, a surprise awaited us...

"HA! CAUGHT YOU!" yelled someone, clearly a man.

We looked behind us to see a Cipher member!

"YAH! HOW'D YOU GET BEHIND US!" screamed May.

"I'll take a guess..." I sighed. "He waited for us in the top of the elevator by bracing himself with his legs and arms..."

"Yeah, and it takes some upper body strength for that, too!"

"Well, May can't do it then..." I chuckled, leading to me being slapped by May.

"I'll take on this nutcase." she said, pulling out a Poke Ball.

"I choose you, Eevee!"

With a burst of white light, May's Eevee appeared.

"Vee!" it cried out.

"Hmm... I choose Marshtomp!" shouted the Cipher Grunt.

With a burst of light from a Great Ball appeared a Marshtomp, a Water/Ground Element that stood on its hind legs, had a light blue body with an orange dot on the stomach, a pair of orange spikes on the sides of its face, two dark blue tail fins, orange eyes, and a dark blue head fin,

"Marsh!" it cried out.

And then my Shadow Detector popped up.

"Marshtomp. Level 21. Water/Ground Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Mist, Shadow Rush, and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Well... Marshtomp do deserve more power than other Pokemon..." Brendan muttered.

"BRENDAN!" I yelled. "Are you suggesting Shadow Pokemon and Shadow moves are POWERFUL! THEIR EVIL, AND NOT LIKE ME!"

The white-haired trainer hid behind a wall... By making his, uh... "custom-made" exit. One word: SPLAT.

"Ugh..." I groaned.

May's Eevee vs. CG Nocon's (AND again) Marshtomp

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Let's go Eevee! Use Quick Attack!"

With white light trailing behind it, Eevee rammed into Marshtomp at high speed.

"Marshtomp! Shadow Rush!"

Marshtomp, now glowing a purple color and smirking, threw its blue body into Eevee, causing quite some damage.

"Eevee, now use Take Down!"

The little Normal Element hopped into the air three times, and then charged towards Marshtomp. The powerful Take Down hit, which lowered Marshtomp's HP to the low greens and Eevee's to the middle yellows.

"Mweh-heh-heh... Puny Pokemon..." laughed Nocon.

"GRR! DON'T INSULT MY EEVEE!" May growled.

Beside the "battlefield"...

"Hmm... I wonder..." I mumbled to myself.

"Oh, dear..." Brendan moaned sarcastically.

"...I'd better not hear that again, Bleach-Hair, otherwise, your headband's gonna be a HEAD BANDAGE! As I was saying... If May can just make this battle last a bit longer, I can Snag that Marshtomp."

"Why does the battle need to be a drag-on?"

I chuckled, and pulled a Poke Ball from my pocket. The top half had brown-colored sides, and a red, slimmed triangle pointing down also adorned the top.

"A Timer Ball!" Brendan cried out.

"Exactly..." I agreed.

Back to the battle.

"Eevee, use Bite!"

Eevee sprinted towards Marshtomp, and bared its teeth, which were glowing a dark-purple color. With a powerful chomp, Marshtomp's HP was reduced to the mid yellows!

"Oh, yeah, ya twit?" Nocon growled. "Marshtomp, Water Gun!"

Marshtomp opened its mouth to release a powerful blast of water towards Eevee, who jumped out of the path.

"Eevee, go! Use Quick Attack!"

Eevee rammed into its Water/Ground opponent at lightning-speed, having white light trailing behind it.

"Grr...!" Nocon snarled. "THAT'S IT! Marshtomp, Shadow Rush! Continuously!"

With a purple haze around it, Marshtomp began to tackle at Eevee several times, all of them dodged.

"Well, here goes..." I said. "Snag Ball, do your thing!"

From my Snag Machine arm, I tossed a red-illuminated Timer Ball at Marshtomp, who was sucked into the sphere with a burst of red energy. The multi-colored Ball fell to the floor, and wiggled around. After a few of the twitches, it stopped.

"Bingo! Ho-ho-ho-ho!" I cheered.

"Yeah!" Brendan shouted.

"Whew..." May sighed as she recalled her Eevee.

"I STILL HAVE ANOTHER POKEMON! TAKE THIS, MAY!" Nocon yelled as he threw out a Great Ball. A Grovyle appeared.

"Gro-vyle!" it called out.

"USE LEAF BLADE!"

Grovyle darted towards May with its scythe-like arm appendages longer and glowing green.

"WHAT?" Brendan cried out.

"AAAHHH!" May screamed.

Needless to say, Nocon's plans failed, since I jumped into his Grovyle's way and tripped it, followed by some clobbering.

Nocon blinked several times at that, recalled his now KO'd Pokemon, and ran away.

"Thank you, Pat!" May said, pulling me into a hug.

"Heh-heh... You'd better get off before Brendan over there gets mad..."

"Right."

We walked away from the battle scene, only to here several battle-like noises from upstairs. Er, up-elevators, with this building.

We found two most likely age 20 people, one male and one female, in a small fight. One, the man, had a red uniform while the other wore blue. And the fight did NOT include Pokemon.

"Grr... How can that dude go and just pick a fight with some girl, who has no upper body strength to protect herself!" I growled.

"Uh, Pat, those two are from..." Brendan started to say. I was already walking towards the two.

"Give it up, Shelley!" shouted the man.

"Never, Tabitha!"

I came up beside the twosome. The male was in a red sleeveless, hooded shirt with a black shirt underneath and a mountain-like **M **on the chest, dark gray shoes and pants, gray gloves, and red cuffs on the shoes/pants and gloves. The other female was much more... attractive. (...I didn't write that. The computer took over my mind! Waugh!) She wore a blue, sleeveless, opened jacket over a black bikini top, blue pants with orange, skeletal-designed **A**'s running down the sides, blue shoes, and a blue skullcap with a white skeleton **A**.

"Excuse me, person with red clothing." I said, tapping "Tabitha" on the shoulder.

"Grr... What!"

Before he could say another word, I had bonked his nose with my fist, causing him to crouch and hold the hopefully broken cartilaginous body part.

"How much nerve does a person have to have to hit a GIRL?" I snarled and picked him up by his collars.

"I didn't need any help, kid. I _am _the niece of a Cipher Admin... Ah, how I miss Uncle Ardos..." "Shelley" sighed.

"YOU are the... Wait a minute..." I suddenly realized what the **A **and **M **were about!

"YOU GUYS ARE TEAM MAGMA AND AQUA COMMANDERS!"

"That's right, hon." Shelley winked at me with a sly smirk, causing me to growl.

"What the heck are YOU guys doing here!" Brendan and May shouted at them.

"It's you two... The idiots who always tried and succeeded in thwarting our plans..." Tabitha growled, who had recovered from his nose injury.

"Yes. ANSWER OUR QUESTION!" Brendan yelled angrily.

"We both have certain business with Cipher... We've come to get Shadow Pokemon, as their called. Now get outta here unless you wanna lose a battle!" Shelley shouted and pulled out two Poke Balls, as did Tabitha.

"WHAT! Me lose a Pokemon battle? In your dreams." I pulled out a Great Ball and an Ultra Ball.

"Since you must save the best for last, I guess you'd better go and get your butt handed to ya, Tabitha." Shelley said, and pushed the Magma Cmdr. to face me.

"Go, Mightyena and Quilava!"

On Tabitha's side of the field appeared a Mightyena, a Dark Element with a canine Pokemon with a long, black tail and a shaggy black coat, black furred legs with a gray underside, piercing red and orange eyes and black markings on the face, along with white claws. And beside it, a Quilava, a Fire-Type, burst out from on of the thrown spheres. It was long, with a blue-colored back and yellow-colored underside and legs, red irises, and yellow and red flames sprouting from the tip of its head and from above its legs, AKA the end of its back.

'Hmm... I've spotted the other Johto starter, Stage One!' I thought. But who has time for thinking when your Shadow Detector responds? Not me. It's ALWAYS me. Me, me, me.

"Mightyena. Level 22. Dark Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow Wave, Shadow Panic, and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Sheesh! That thing is fully-loaded with Shadow artillery!" I shouted, then released Lombre and Combusken.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limits, yadda-yadda-yadda, same-old, same-old.

My Lombre and Combusken vs. Team Magma Cmdr. Tabitha's Mightyena and Quilava

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Let's go, Quilava! Flame Wheel!" Tabitha ordered.

Quilava charged toward Lombre, and soon rolled up into a ball surrounded by fire.

"Lombre, use Water Gun!"

Lombre opened its red mouth and unleashed a small blast of water at the oncoming Quilava, who took no damage when hit. But Water Gun did stop the Fire Pokemon.

"And Combusken, use Sky Uppercut!"

With its fist glowing a blue color, Combusken leapt towards Quilava and delivered a powerful blow to it.

"No fair... That's my Blaziken's signature move..." May wept.

"Wow! I've never seen two Stage One Fire Element starters going at it!" Brendan shouted.

"Grr... I will _not _be beaten by some kid! Mightyena, use, uh... Shadow Rush!"

Veiled by a purple aura, Mightyena charged towards Lombre in a tackling position. The Shadow attack succeeded, but hardly scratched Lombre, being resistant.

"HA! You too aren't the only idiots that have Shadow Pokemon! Those two do as well!" I pointed to May and Brendan, who growled at me. (Hint: I-DI-OT.)

"And then I, a genius, has some. Now, Combusken! Double Kick that Quilava!"

Combusken jumped over to Quilava and stood up on its left foot, and delivered two kicks to its one-Type opponent, which KO'd it.

"GRR!" Tabitha growled as he recalled his Quilava.

"I still have my Shadow Pokemon!"

"Not for long..." I said softly, and looked at my Snag Machine. I snaked my left arm behind my back (The un-Snag Machine arm) and grabbed a Great Ball, but kept my hand back there.

My Lombre and Combusken vs. TM Cmdr. Tabitha's Mightyena

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Combusken, use Shadow Rush! You too, Lombre!"

With purple auras and evil smirks, my two dual-Type Pokemon rammed their bodies into Mightyena, taking its HP down to the mid yellows.

"Since those two are both Shadows... MIGHTYENA, SHADOW BALL!" Tabitha yelled.

Between Mightyena's jaws, a crackling sphere of black and ghostly energy formed and began charging. Once it became large enough, the canine Dark Pokemon launched the Shadow Ball towards Combusken.

"Ha. Combusken, use Protect." I said.

With its arms in an X position, a golden shield appeared in front of the Fire/Fighting dual, and reflected the Ghost attack.

"And now, Lombre! Use Shadow Rush once more!"

Lombre executed another shadowy tackle, which put Mightyena in the Snag zone.

"Well, Tabitha... This battle is over." I said as I silently transformed the Great Ball into a Snag Ball, AKA gave it a red aura in my Snag Machine hand.

"What? You haven't lost yet!"

"But you will... Now. Go, Snag Ball!" I tossed out the Great Ball, onto Mightyena, who was sucked up in a red burst of energy. The Ball fell to the ground and twitched. While it tried to reopen...

"YOU THIEF! What kind of person steals another's Pokemon? Besides maybe me!"

"A person who doesn't like Pokemon to be tortured as Shadow Pokemon." For some reason, a thought blared in my head: 'Yeah, right.' But I pushed that aside, since Mightyena had just been captured. May walked up to grab it after the Magma Cmdr. ran out, over to the elevator.

"I'LL BE BACK!" he yelled. 'Man, I'm sorry Uncle Eldes... I failed you... And you too, Maxie.' he thought angrily, knowing the punishment his boss would give him.

I recalled only Combusken, for Shelley came towards me.

"How impressive..." she scoffed. "You won't do that to me, so let's get this battle on!"

She tossed out two Poke Balls, along with a cry of:

"Let's go, Spheal and Sharpedo!"

From the white eruptions materialized a Spheal, and beside it a Sharpedo, a Water/Dark-Type with a shark-shaped body with a dark blue top with a four-pointed star on the head and a white bottom, red eyes with black, gill-shaped designs beside them, two dark blue side fins, a same-colored top fin with cuts in the back, and a bottom fin with a cut near the bottom of the stomach. Inside the mouth were several sharp teeth, and the end of the shark Pokemon had a yellow star pattern.

"Spheal!" called out Spheal.

"Shar-pedo!" growled Sharpedo.

And then my Shadow Detector responded.

"Sharpedo. Level 22. Water/Dark Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow Blitz, and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Well, THAT is one good Shadow. Almost completely offensive." I said.

"Oh, hush." Shelley said.

"Grr! I'll show you, woman! Let's go, Pikachu!" I yelled and released Pikachu from his Ball.

"Pi-ka-chu!" he cried out.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Lombre and Pikachu vs. Team Aqua Cmdr. Shelley's Spheal and Sharpedo

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Pikachu, start us off with a jolt! Attack Spheal with Thunderbolt!"

With red cheek packs now sparkling with electricity, Pikachu unleashed a somewhat wide lightning bolt towards Spheal, who took the hit and nearly fainted!

"Okay! And now, Lombre, Shadow Rush that Sharpedo!"

Lombre jumped towards Sharpedo after becoming thickly outlined by a purple-black haze, and its mouth twisted into an evil smile. The dual Grass/ Water Element rammed into Sharpedo, but caused only slight damage.

"You may have gotten a good start, kid, but I'll defeat you! Sharpedo, use Shadow Rush and Spheal, attack with Ice Beam!"

Sharpedo also came to have a purple aura, and as much as a smirk a shark could have, and tackled into Pikachu, with only minor damage the after affect. Sharpedo returned to its portion of the "field" to await its next command.

Meanwhile, Spheal had opened its mouth and unleashed an icy blue beam towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Protect!"

The Electric Mouse put its arms up and formed a golden barrier which deflected the Ice Beam. It was deformed when Spheal's Ice Beam ceased.

"Ha-ha-ha! And now, Pikachu, hit Spheal with a blast of Thunder!"

With red cheek pouches once again sparking with electricity, Pikachu now sent out a huge beam of lightning towards Spheal, who fainted upon contact from the super effective and powerful Electric attack.

"All right! One down, one to go!" I said, directing my gaze towards Sharpedo.

"Grr...! I'll still beat you!" Shelley growled as she recalled her Spheal to its Ball.

"Whatever!" I scoffed.

My Pikachu and Lombre vs. Team Aqua Cmdr. Shelley's Sharpedo

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Sharpedo, go! Slash!"

Sharpedo's fangs started glowing a white color, and with a few swift lurches toward Pikachu, swiped his sharp teeth at the Electric Element, causing a critical hit to Pikachu.

"Oh, yeah? Lombre and Pikachu, DOUBLE SHADOW RUSH!"

The two foresaid Pokemon came to have a purple, hazy mass of energy behind and around them as well as evil smirks on their lips. They ran and then jumped toward Sharpedo and hit their mark, lowering the Water/ Dark Element's HP more.

"Follow up with Slam, Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped into the air even further, and came down to whap Sharpedo with its tail. But when Pikachu came down, he flinched slightly, and I noticed a scratch on his tail.

"Rough Skin! I forgot!"

"Does it matter?" smirked Shelley.

"No. For now this battle ends! Go, Snag Ball!"

I grabbed an Ultra Ball from my pocket with my Snag hand, gave it a red aura (Or rather, the Snag Machine did), and threw it towards Sharpedo. The shark-like Pokemon was hit by the sphere, and was drawn in by red energy. The Ball fell down to the floor and wiggled around several times... After about half a minute, it stopped. Shelley had been beaten, and Sharpedo had been claimed.

"Yes! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" I laughed. Afterwards, I recalled my Pokemon and saw Shelley run off and into the elevator.

"I'll get you for this!" she growled. The elevator sank down, out of sight.

I grabbed Sharpedo's new home, and Brendan exclaimed: "It's mine!"

"Forget it Sugar Head. He's mine."

"Are you crazy! You get all the good ones!"

"I'll keep it, and we'll decide later."

"Humph! Just like with Growlithe and Grovyle!"

"Brendan...!" I growled.

"...Sorry, Pat."

A sigh escaped my lips before we all headed up the final elevator...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

We emerged outside, on the roof of the building. It was then that we spotted a male Cipher member.

"Ah-ha-ha! So you finally got to me, the one who imprisoned Megg! Ah-ha-ha!"

Suddenly, Shroomish, who was beside my feet, emitted a growl and used a Headbutt, ramming into the Cipher member.

"OW!" he cried out when Shroomish connected.

"Nice... Um... Now use Stun Spore!" I ordered.

Shroomish nodded, and a cloud of yellow particles erupted from the top of its head. They paralyzed the Cipher member.

"Hmm... Might as well confiscate his Pokemon. See if he has a Shadow."

Brendan knelt down beside the paralyzed person and searched his belt. He came up with just one, and released it.

With a burst of white light appeared a Golbat, a Poison/ Flying Element with a blue, elliptically shaped body/ head and triangular ears and a large, gaping mouth having two fangs on the top and bottom, tiny t-shaped legs, and blue arms with stretches of purple skin to make up the wings.

"Golbat!" it growled.

My visor popped up again, signifying Golbat's Shadow-ness.

"Golbat. Level 24. Poison/Flying Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Puh! That thing's barely useless, with not one good Shadow attack! You can take it Brendan!" I shouted.

Shroomish unleashed another blast of spores, this time green ones for Sleep Powder, and I tossed an Ultra Ball at it after making it a Snag Ball. The sphere twitched a few times, and stopped.

"Told you it's weak." I muttered.

"Would you knock it off? Let's go Brendan." May said.

She and Brendan walked to the next and last door. I followed after kicking the paralyzed Cipher member in the leg. _Slightly._

And then we came inside. It was then we came upon Megg and several other important people of ONBS. Megg wore a gray-blue dress and knee-length gray-blue boots. Her hair was black, and ties in braids, going down her back.

"Wh-Who are you people!" she cried.

"Hey, relax girl. We're here to save ya." I said. "See? I brought your Shroomish!"

"Shroom!" cried out Shroomish happily. It jumped into Megg's arms.

"Oh, Shroomish! I was so worried!"

"Oh, is there nothing more beautiful than the reuniting of a Pokemon and its Trainer?" May sighed.

"Yes, there are." I replied.

Suddenly, a strangely-shaped shadow fell upon the floor.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Prepare to feel my wrath!"

Brendan, May, I, and everyone else in the room looked over at a woman, maybe mid-, or late-twenties, with brown hair in two short braids going down her shoulders with hazel-colored eyes wearing a white dress with large, pink sleeves, blue trim on the bottom, a pink, see-through veil covering her mouth, a same-color cape that was connected to a large, brownish-yellow crescent-moon behind her head that was held in place by a brown-yellow vertical thing on the back of her head. (...Someone tell me how that moon-thing stays in place.)

"Aha... Cipher Admin Venus, third-fought Cipher Admin in Cipher's first age, and now the second in the 2nd age. How obvious." I said.

"Ooh! You shut your yap, boy! I am Venus, and will punish you all for interfering with my plans here!" Venus growled.

"What plans?"

"Well, for starters, I'm here to destroy all of ONBS' equipment! Furthermore, I'm gonna capture some of the top ONBS members and keep them as hostages!"

"What for?"

"So I can get the ransom money and fund more of Cipher's plans! Huh...? AAH! I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT!" Venus covered her mouth.

"Heh-heh-heh... You foolish female... PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DEMISE!"

Venus and I both grabbed two Balls each, and released the Pokemon inside.

"Let's go, Combusken and Lombre!" I shouted, tossing an Ultra and Great Ball out.

The above Pokemon materialized from bursts of bluish- and yellowish-white light.

"Busk-en!" shouted Combusken.

"Lom-bre-lom!" cried Lombre.

"Oh, yeah, tough guy? Go Delcatty and Vileplume!"

Venus threw two Great Balls out, and what appeared were a Delcatty, a Normal Pokemon with a feline, cream-colored body with a long tail that had a purple tuft of fur on the tip, a purple mane around the neck, and purple ears and fur on the top of its head, with black inner-ears, and a Vileplume, a Grass/Poison mix with an indigo-colored body with small arms and legs, and four large, white-spotted, red petals on its head.

"Vile!" Vileplume growled.

Delcatty let out a mew.

Battle statistics: This is a six-on-six double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Combusken and Lombre vs. CA Venus' Delcatty and Vileplume

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"I shall begin. Ladies first you know!" Venus giggled.

I looked around the room. "But there aren't any ladies in here."

A growl came from May, Venus, and Megg.

"Ha-ha! Kidding, guys. Er, girls. Anyway, I'LL start off. Lombre, use Shadow Rush! You too, Combusken!"

Lombre and Combusken began dashing towards Vileplume and Delcatty as purple hazes began to appear behind them, and evil smirks grew on their face. They rammed into the enemy Pokemon, delivering a super effective hit.

"No! My precious Delcatty!" Venus cried. "Grr... Use Giga Drain Vileplume!"

A big green energy ball formed in front of Vileplume, and a smaller one appeared in front of Lombre. Some streams of green energy erupted from Lombre's sphere, making him fall back. It went into Vileplume's ball, healing the user somewhat.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Now, Delcatty, use Doubleslap!"

Delcatty jumped over to Lombre, turned around, and slapped its face with its purple-tipped tail several times.

"Lombre, now! Water Gun!"

Opening its red mouth quickly, Lombre beamed out a blast of blue liquid before he got smacked again, which became critical to the close-range Feline Pokemon. It returned to Venus' side, or rather was blasted over there!

"Heh-heh-heh!" I smirked. "And now, Combusken, use your Flamethrower!"

The Fire/Fighting Pokemon opened its beak, where a flash of fire was seen. A small red-and-yellow ball formed, and it became a large blast of flames headed towards Vileplume. The super-powerful move took out the first of Venus' Pokemon.

"My Vileplume!" she squeaked. Venus brought out Vileplume's Poke Ball and recalled it.

"Next up to perform is: Luvdisc!"

From a thrown Great Ball appeared a Luvdisc, a Water-Type with a pink, heart-shaped body and white lips.

"Luv-disc!" it squealed.

My Lombre and Combusken vs. CA Venus' Luvdisc and Delcatty

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Use Surf, Luvdisc! And Delcatty, prepare a Thunderbolt!"

While Delcatty began sparking with yellow electricity, Luvdisc somehow formed water, and it became a large wave, hurtling towards Lombre and Combusken. Luvdisc jumped atop the moving wave, and it came crashing down on my Pokemon. Combusken was dramatically hut while Lombre was barely injured.

"NOW DELCATTY!"

And then, once Luvdisc was out of striking range, Delcatty unleashed a yellow mass of electricity at Lombre, which became super effective due to all the water on its slimy body. The zapped Pokemon fainted.

"Aw, man!" I groaned, recalling the Water/Grass. "Nice, Lombre, you tried... But now, I choose CROCONAW!"

I tossed a Poke Ball, and from it came Croconaw. It didn't cry this time, due to its earlier "promise".

"Croc-o-naw!" it growled.

My Croconaw and Combusken vs. CA Venus' Luvdisc and Delcatty

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Hurry Croconaw! Use your Water Gun!"

Croconaw opened up its large jaws, and from them shot a blast of blue water at Delcatty. The Normal Element tried to dodge, but wasn't swift enough.

"Keep it up! And now, Combusken, use Flamethrower on..." I pointed forwards. "_BOTH OF 'EM!_"

Combusken nodded its head, inhaled, and beamed out another fiery beam, this time going circularly, from Luvdisc, and swinging across to double-team Delcatty. Delcatty obviously fainted from the two powerful hits.

"Ha! Two down, four to go!" I cackled, and switched to thinking. 'And only maybe three to go until I can get your Shadow Pokemon!'

"Ooh! You make me mad, little boy!" Venus growled as she recalled her Pokemon. She tossed out another Ball, an Ultra Ball.

From the yellow and black sphere came a Chimecho, a Psychic-Type with a small, blue, spherical body with a yellow ball topping off its head and red zigzags on its cheeks, small arms and yellow eyes, and a light blue, long and wide tail that connected to the bottom of its head/body and broadened out quickly, with a red splash-design on the bottom.

"Chime!" it echoed. (...I have got to stop the puns.)

My Croconaw and Combusken vs. CA Venus' Chimecho and Luvdisc

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Let's go, Chimecho! Use Psychic on Combusken!"

Chimecho closed its tiny little eyes, and then opened them, making a wave of rainbow psychic energy burst forth from out of nowhere, which sped toward Combusken.

"Use Protect, Combusken!"

Putting its arms up, the Fighting/Fire Element formed a golden shield, deflecting an eliminating the Psychic attack.

"And now, Croconaw! Finish off that repulsive fish! Use your Slash!"

Croconaw's claws began glowing a white color, and it jumped over towards Luvdisc and swiped at it twice, with white energy trails following its claws.

"Well, that was quick..." Venus moaned as she held out her Water Pokemon's Ball and recalled it.

"Now time for this one: Ninetales!"

From another Great Ball erupted a Ninetales, a Fire Element with a canine appearance; a cream-colored body with a dog-like snout and ruby-colored eyes, perked-up and alert ears, a large tuft of cream-colored hair between its ears, and large, glorious nine tails tipped brown.

"Nine-tales!" it barked out.

"Wow... That's one pretty Pokemon!" May gasped in awe.

"Yeah, if you're a girl..." Brendan whispered to himself.

"GRR!"

"Hee-hee-hee!" giggled Brendan.

My Combusken and Croconaw vs. CA Venus' Ninetales and Chimecho

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Combusken, use Bulk Up!" I commanded.

Combusken drew in a long breath and assumed a karate position, increasing his Attack and Defense stats.

"And Croconaw, go! Use Water Gun on Chimecho!"

Opening its large blue and yellow jaws, Croconaw unleashed a beam of blue liquid onto Chimecho, and stopped after a few moments.

"Grr... Chimecho use Calm Mind!"

Chimecho sung to itself a soft melody and swayed back and forth, which upped its Special Attack and Special Defense.

"And now Ninetales, use OVERHEAT!"

Ninetales opened up its smooth jaws, and a ball of white-hot fire with an orange outline appeared. It then beamed out as a blast of white and orange fire, onto Combusken. The ultra-strong Fire attack wasn't very effective, but still KO'd Combusken.

"Hmph... Return." I said, recalling the fainted Pokemon.

"That was a nice moves Venus, but now prepare to taste the wrath of Aerodactyl!"

I threw out a Poke Ball, and Aerodactyl popped out.

"ROOOOOOOO!" he roared.

My Croconaw and Aerodactyl vs. CA Venus' Chimecho and Ninetales

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Aerodactyl, use Wing Attack on Ninetales!"

With gray wings glowing white, Aerodactyl flew over to Ninetales and slammed its wings into it.

"Ooh! Use Quick Attack Ninetales!" Venus yelled.

Ninetales crouched down onto its legs, and then pounced into the air speedily with white light trailing its tails. Then the majestic Pokemon rammed into Aerodactyl, which of course wasn't very effective.

"Let's see some aerial stunts, Aerodactyl! Use Iron Tail!"

With its tail glowing a metallic white color, the Rock/Flying Elemental flipped over in the air and came down with its tail to hit Ninetales hard with the Steel attack, whittling down more of Ninetales' HP.

"OK, now's my chance... Croconaw use Water Gun on Ninetales and Aerodactyl, attack Chimecho with your Bite!"

Croconaw opened its mouth and unleashed a powerful blast of water onto Ninetales once Aerodactyl got out of the way, and then Aerodactyl flew over to Chimecho with open jaws and dark-glowing teeth, and chomped down.

The two attacks stopped after a few seconds of contact, which, since both were super effective, resulted in a double knockout!

"Way to go, guys!" I cheered.

"Croc!" Croconaw said.

"ROOOOOOO!" Aerodactyl roared.

Meanwhile, my feminine opponent let out a low growl as she recalled her Pokemon.

"THAT IS SO MEAN OF YOU!" she cried out.

"Huh? What are you blabbering about, you foolish female flop?" I asked.

"HOW CAN YOU GO FULL FORCE AGAINST A LADY LIKE MYSELF! WHERE'RE YOUR MANNERS, PAT!"

"Grr... You sound... Just like her..." I said with a clenched fist, and then said in a very quiet whisper:

"Just like Lovrina did..."

_**...FLASHBACK...**_

(Now those of you will get a glimpse at what happened at the Cipher Lab... er, some of it)

_Lovrina had brought me to a chamber with two identical machines, with black wires connecting them to a little blinking machine. They were a small cylinder to stand on and an upside-down dish-shaped thing with a large amount of space and a flashing light between the two machines._

"_Time for some battle practice, Pat! You so need it." Lovrina said to me. She walked over to the small blinking thing and slipped in a silver disk._

"_This will be a simulated battle. You against me. I'll have a Clefable and Wigglytufff, and you a Snorlax."_

"_Fine, Lovrina..." I muttered. I was wearing the pair of gloves she had given me earlier, and stepped into the first machine, while Lovrina went in the other._

"_Helmets, please." Lovrina said as she snapped her fingers. Two black helmets came down, were placed on our heads, and some Pokemon appeared, as holograms._

_0o0o0o0o0o0_

_I had beaten her, the pink-haired idiot, by a mile with a combination of Brick Break, Body Slam, and Hyper Beam._

"_HOW CAN YOU BE SO HARSH PAT!" Lovrina whined as she approached me, with a mad yet sorrowful look. "I'M A GIRL, AND YOU SO COULD HAVE USED YOUR MANNERS BY PLAYING NICE!"_

_**...END OF FLASHBACK...**_

"I do not care about being NICE, you stupid dumbbell. You here! _I DON'T CARE!_" My eyes began to flash green with anger and rage.

"Oh no... Here we go again..." Brendan moaned.

My, and my Pokemon's, eyes turned completely green, with emerald vapors emitting from my body.

"_Now choose you last Pokemon, you idiot!_" I growled.

"Uh..." Venus said in shock. "F-fine. I choose you, Milotic!"

"_Milotic?_"

From Venus' last Ultra Ball erupted the sleek form of Milotic, a Water Element with a long, snakelike body colored a light peach or pale tan with a spiked head, deep brown eyes, red-colored hair above its eyes flowing down about half its length with two strands of hair going up in a thin curl, a blue and red-patterned tail with five blue, sharp-ended oval-shaped, and long scales overlapping one another, with red ovals in the center of each.

And that's when my visor went up.

"Milotic. Level 25. Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Storm and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"_Ah, the perfect Shadow Pokemon... Good level, good moves._" I said to myself.

My Croconaw and Aerodactyl vs. CA Venus' Milotic

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"_Croconaw, begin with Dig._"

Croconaw jumped into the air and came down, burrowing into the floor.

"_And Aerodactyl, use your Wing Attack._"

With its wings glowing white, Aerodactyl flapped speedily over to Milotic and struck it with its wings.

"Counter it with Hydro Pump!" Venus yelled.

"_Ah! Get away from Milotic!_" I cried.

Aerodactyl tried to fly away from the formidable Water Pokemon, but wasn't fast enough. Milotic formed a blue ball in front of its mouth, and two blasts of water, twisting around each other, shot out at Aerodactyl and hit full-force, knocking it out with a super effective attack.

"_Hmph... Return to your Ball, Aerodactyl._" I muttered and recalled him.

"_And now, prepare for Pika power! With... PIKACHU!_" I tossed out a Poke Ball, which my Pikachu came out of.

"Pi-ka-chu!" he called out.

"Gesundheit." Brendan said with a silly grin.

"Brendan!" May said, whacking him in the head.

"What!"

"This is no time for your wisecracks!"

My Pikachu and Croconaw vs. CA Venus' Milotic

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"_Pikachu, use your Thundershock!_"

Pikachu's red cheeks began sparking with yellow electricity, and he let out a small strand of the same electricity onto Milotic.

"Use Water Gun on that!" Venus smirked.

Milotic once again opened its mouth and shot a watery beam at one of its foes. The Thundershock and it met, both suddenly negated.

"_Hmm... What a nice counter move... For a woman._" I sneered.

"Thanks! Huh...? Wait a... GRR!"

"_Heh-heh-heh-heh..._"

Venus ranted on about manners again which began to bore me out of my skull, and during that yammering I tapped the floor with my foot.

A low rumbling was heard, and Croconaw jumped out of a newly formed hole in front of Milotic, and tackled it.

"_That's what you get for being ridiculously talkative._" I smirked.

"My dear Milotic!" Venus cried out.

"_And now, Croconaw, finish off that sea serpent with your Seismic Toss!_"

Croconaw then grabbed the still stunned Milotic and hurtled both of them into the air, and came crashing down to the floor speedily. The impact made Milotic's HP drop down to the low yellows.

"_And now... GO SNAG BALL!_" I yelled, and threw an illuminated Ultra Ball. It tapped Milotic on the head, who then became red energy, and swirled into the spherical container. The Ball dropped to the floor and rattled around a few times. Finally, it stopped.

"_This battle is now... over... U... _Ugh..." I moaned. My eyes and sinister voice returned to normal, as did my Pokemon's. I recalled them and picked up Milotic's new home.

"Milotic is MINE. All those who question that will be vaporized." I said to May and Brendan.

"W... What? I l-lost! ...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Venus bawled, with "tear fountains" streaming out of her eyes.

"Oh, for Pat's sake..." I sighed.

"PETE'S!" Brendan corrected. He and May walked over to me.

"No, not when I'm talking."

They both sweat dropped.

Venus had pushed past us all, and out of the room and the whole building.

"Well, another Admin down, who knows how many more to go." I said.

And then, a member of the crowd in the room walked up to me. He wore clothes clearly of a rich person's, which were a red shirt with gray pants and shoes, with white collars on the shirt. He also had somewhat blond hair.

"Hello. I am Nett, the founder of ONBS. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Pat."

"Uh, hello Nett." I shook Nett's hand.

"You Snagged that Shadow Pokemon like you were Michael. You're really good at that, and I have something I found that'll... Help you out."

Nett walked over to his mahogany desk and pulled out a green flute, and gave it to me.

"WHAT THE...! A Time Flute?" I cried in awe, looking at the slender stick.

"Yes. That is correct. I once knew the first Snagger, Wes, who gave three important people his three Time Flutes, the only existing ones. He never used them... And I was just a kid when I got the important thing. Anyway... Do you know what it does, Pat?" Nett asked.

I said nothing, but nodded. Finally, I replied:

"When used before the Relic Stone in Agate Village, the legendary Celebi will appeared and make a Shadow Pokemon remember its times as a non-Shadow, and will instantly purify it..."

"Yes... How did you..."

"That doesn't matter. Thank you so much, Nett. I know the perfect Pokemon to use it on, and it's..."

I was cut off by my PDA going off.

"Huh? An email." I looked at it, hoping it wasn't from Lovrina.

"It's from Michael!"

_Pat,_

_I got a strange note when I went to the Outskirt Stand recently from some strangely-clothed trainer. He told me to tell you to come to the Outskirt Stand and battle with him. _

_Sincerely, Michael_

"...Hmm... Could this be a trap?" I pondered. 'Is this person a Cipher member...? Or what...' I thought.

"Let's go Pat!" May shouted. She and Brendan were going out the door.

"Coming! Here, Nett." I gave him 1500 Pokemon Dollars.

"That'll cover the floor damage." With a wink and a point to the spots Croconaw emerged from his Dig attack, I left the room and town with my companions, and headed east on our scooters.

PM: Don't kill me because it's been over a month, but I supplied a good chapter, right? And the next one will come sooner, and be shorter. I promise you all.

...Oh, boy. THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN PATINATOR HISTORY, COMING IN AT 191 KILOBYTES OVER THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 189.


	9. Chapter 9

PM: Told ya I'd update soon! And here's my first disclaimer...

Justin Cheek belong to one of my friends who isn't yet an author. I will notify when/if he does become one, so you will all know who to give credit to. It's not my fault I'm putting him in, though. Blame it on his creator! No, I'm kidding.

(I might as well add to the disclaimer that Pokemon and all that doesn't belong to me, but you all knew.)

Chapter 9:

The Introduction of a New Teammate!

We had all gotten to the Outskirt stand in plenty of time. It was simply a large, orange steam locomotive with no wheels, turned into a little shop and resting place.

"Alright, come out wherever you are, person! I got an email from Michael with information about you, so show your face!" I shouted. No one appeared for a while.

"Maybe Michael was pulling our leg, or the guy didn't show up or something..." May said.

"Humph! I dislike being stood up by people! Let's go, guys..." I said, and began to walk away from the Outskirt Stand.

And that's when we all heard, "HOLD IT!"

From the cab of the locomotive jumped down a guy about my age with blond hair, spiked up all around on the top of his head, with green eyes, wearing a dark blue coat that extended down at the back to a rather wavy yet tight cloak behind him, matching-colored pants, black shoes, and the strangest part of his clothing was a gray mask covering his nose and eyes, shaped like a horizontally-stretched V, with the ends spiky. (Yes, it's the blonde from Chapter 8!)

"I am the one you're all looking for. I won't tell you all my name, but I insist that _you_..." He pointed at me. "Engage in a Pokemon battle with me."

The mystery person grabbed two Poke Balls from his black belt around his wait, underneath his coat, and threw them out.

"Go, Snorunt and Barboach!"

With two flashes of white, a Snorunt appeared on the ground.

"Sno-o-o-o!" it cried out happily.

Beside it appeared a Barboach, a Water/Ground Element having a long gray body with black zigzag patterns going length-wise across its sides, two small blue fins along the lower portion of its bottom side (If that made ANY sense) with a black dot on each side and a larger blue fin on the middle of its topside with three black dots on each side, a circular blue tail fin on the end of its gray body, small black eyes and a blue nose with small pointy whiskers facing downwards, and two longer and slimmer ones going up.

"Barboach!" it called out.

"Hmm... I choose Lombre and Combusken!"

I tossed out two Ultra Balls, and Combusken and Lombre appeared.

"Lombre!" chirped Lombre.

"Combusken!" growled Combusken, kicking the air to show off.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Lombre and Combusken vs. Mystery Trainer's Snorunt and Barboach

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Snorunt, begin with your Leer!"

Snorunt opened its eyes, and sent two red beams from them at Lombre, which became large, red, menacing eyes up in the Grass/Water Pokemon's face, lowering its Defensive stat.

"And Barboach, use Amnesia!"

Barboach's concentrated look became a look of confusion, which upped its Special Defense a lot, signified by a green energy circle rising up around it.

"Nice moves, I admit..." I said. "But mine are better! Combusken use Double Kick on Snorunt and Lombre, use Ice Punch on Barboach!"

Combusken jumped towards Snorunt with its left foot stuck out, glowing a reddish-brown color, and Lombre hopped towards Barboach with its right arm out (What is this, hokey-pokey?), glowing an icy blue.

"NOW! SWITCH!" my mysterious opponent yelled, and his Pokemon switched positions.

"Barboach, use Water Gun on Combusken and Snorunt, attack Lombre with Ice Beam!"

Barboach opened up its small mouth and a blast of water burst out at Combusken, which hit it for super effective damage. Meanwhile a blue sphere of ice formed in front of Snorunt's mouth, and it beamed out as an icy blue lightning-bolt style blast, hitting Lombre and stopping its attack.

'Man, this guy's good! It's like I trained him or something! Heh! ...Wait a minute... Maybe I...' I looked at his spiky yellow hair. 'Maybe I _did... _Only with virtual Pokemon! ...Nah, it couldn't be...'

"Uh... Combusken, use Shadow Rush on Barboach now! Lombre, use it on Snorunt!"

Combusken and Lombre both became enveloped with an evil purple energy, and they both dashed off in separate directions. Combusken went at Barboach and hit it with its fist, and Lombre rammed its green, slimy body into Snorunt, both attacks successful and super effective.

"WHAT! Shadow Rush!" the mystery guy cried out.

"And now, my Pokemon, finish it up with Brick Break, Combusken and Fire Punch, Lombre!" (Yes, I checked and, in Emerald at least, Lombre can learn Fire Punch. Weird, eh?)

Combusken's hands became fists once more, glowing a dark brown color. He slammed them both into Barboach's long body, knocking it out with the powerful attack. Lombre did the same, but with a red-glowing hand. Fire Punch also took out Snorunt, being super effective.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!" I cackled. I then held out my Pokemon's Poke Balls. They shot out red lasers and connected with Combusken and Lombre, who turned red as well, and were sucked in. My defeated opponent also recalled his defeated Pokemon.

"Your not bad, dude. That switch thing was a surprise. BUT I STILL TRIUMPHED! GAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" I roared with evil laughter.

"...Yeah, that is definitely Pat..." muttered the person.

"How the heck do you know me...?" I asked.

The guy then grabbed his mask-like thing and removed it.

"...FOR THE LOVE OF PAT-NESS! JUSTIN!" I screamed in shock.

"Yep... It's been a while Pat." "Justin" replied, with a big grin.

"How did you... I-I mean, you're here, and... I mean... I..."

Justin motioned for May and Brendan to move back a bit, and he brought my ear to his mouth.

"OK, listen Pat..." he whispered. "I went over to your house and didn't find you; although I knew your parents were gone. Anyway, I thought I'd play a bit on Pokemon XD a bit in case you had gone off somewhere or something. Boy was I right... About the gone off somewhere! I too was sucked into this different dimension when I played around a bit. I landed in Orre, at the Oasis Poke Spot. You remember those, right?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Well, I befriended my Barboach, and some guy gave me an icy blue egg that hatched into my Snorunt. Those are my only Pokemon, and here we are."

I motioned for Brendan and May to come back over.

"Do you know this guy, Pat?" May asked.

"Oh, yeah... We go back a while. He's my best friend/associate."

"WOULD YOU KNOCK THAT OFF!" Justin shouted, whacking me in the head.

"OW! That hurt, you know!"

"Duh."

"Grr... Anyway, this, guys, is Justin... _Butt_cheek."

"**_GRR!_**" Justin growled. An Anime anger cross appeared on his head.

"WAH! Sorry. Sheesh... I mean, Justin Cheek."

Brendan was laughing his head off at the "pleasant-time _END_ING" comment, and May was just acting casual.

"...Man, is that... _May?_" Justin asked me quietly.

"The one and only. But don't try ANYTHING, lest you incur the wrath of Brendan Birch!"

"Professor Birch's son..."

"Yes. I'm with them, and together or by myself... CIPHER SHALL BE DEFEATED!"

"Oh, so _that's _why your Combusken and Lombre had Shadow moves... For a second, I thought you _were _a Cipher member! Ha-ha!"

Strangely enough, a bead of sweat rolled down my head. "Yeah. Not a Cipher... Heh-heh. Uh... Anyway... We'd best be off, Justin. See you!"

We three began to walked away.

"WAIT A SECOND!"

"Huh?" I turned around.

"I... I want to come with you guys. Okay?" Justin asked.

"..." We exchanged looks, and finally said...

"Sure."

"HOT DOG! THE J-MAN IS _IN!_"

"Oh, sure..." I said with an emphasis and a smirk.

"THAT'S MY CATCHPHRASE!"

"Oh, sure. Get technical."

"And that's your catchphrase. Well, come on! Let's go!" Justin walked up to us, and we all, now four, hopped onto our scooters (Justin had his own, a platinum color) and went to Gateon.

"Well, there goes my savings, since our rent at the Pokemon Center will be upped!" Brendan mumbled to himself.

PM: And just like that, we have a second idiot in the group. The other? Brendan. Who else? Okay, I'm kidding.


	10. Chapter 10

PM: And I'm back again. Rejoice the reaching of a double-digit chapter!

Chapter 10:

A _Colossal _Event, Pt. 1: May's Challenges!

The day after Justin had joined the group, I had gotten another load of emails from Lovrina, and just deleted them all without looking at them. And then, an hour later still in the early morning, I got an email from Michael again. Beethoven's 5th symphony, part one ran through my mind as I looked at it.

_Pat,_

_I need you to go to a new city, Lieno City. I've been told that some shady types are hiding or causing trouble there. I'll let you handle it; I gotta watch my sister... And that will go just peachy._

_From Michael_

"Lieno City... Ha-ha-ha... Another of the places I 'created', I guess... As I recall, it was a place for very rich people or famous battlers. That might make it hard, since there's a Coliseum in the heart of the grand city..."

0o0o0o0o0o0

I notified Brendan and May, and then Justin. Speaking of that knucklehead, we had given him our excess, unclaimed Shadow Pokemon, which were Growlithe, Grovyle, Sharpedo, and Marshtomp, giving him a formidable team with his Snorunt and Barboach.

After getting ready and all that, we went to the desert part of Orre, but not like a stereotypical desert; it had some water and minor plant life. From Gateon Port, Lieno City was to the southeast.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Whew... That took longer than expected." I sighed, wiping sweat from my brow. It was HOT.

"Well, before we do any Cipher-busting, Pat..." Brendan spoke up, "Let's get an air-conditioned restaurant. I'm famished."

"I hate to say it, but Sugar-Head's got a point." Justin said. Aside from me, he must've been the hottest, since he was in the most and darkest clothing besides me.

Suddenly, someone with neat brown hair and yellow eyes, in a light blue suit with a red tie and blue shoes walked in front of us.

"Hold it, there guys. No one can enter unless they can give me 5000 Pokemon Dollars or wins in a battle."

"Ah, move it Blubber-Head." I growled. "I don't wish to be held up."

"Well, your wish isn't granted. Don't get smart with me, boy."

I began to get mad...

"Uh oh... Pat's getting angry..." Justin gulped.

"_PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED, YOU IMPUDENT IMBECILE!_" (The italicized speech doesn't mean my eyes went green.)

"I choose Huntail and Gorebyss!"

From two Net Balls the person threw, blue-topped balls with green net designs, appeared a Huntail, a Water Element with a big, blue, square mouth, orange half-circles on its lower jaw, a one-third circle of the same color on its head, a long, blue, wavy body with orange bumps along the top and white, orange-outlined circles along the sides, with a circle-shaped tail tip with a spike at the very end and two less-sharp spikes going the opposite way on the circle, with two orange-outlined, white circles for nostrils and the same color schemed eyes. Beside it came a Gorebyss, also a Water-Type with a long, pink body having two white stripes in the lower portion, a needle-shaped nose, two large, black eyes, two dark pink clam-shell halves on its "chest" to from a bikini top-like object, a dark pink circle on its tail, and two wavy spikes coming from its lower head and from the top, with the top ending in dark pink.

"Go-o-o-orebyss!" fluctuated Gorebyss.

"Hun!" grunted Huntail.

I reached for my Poke Balls, when suddenly my Shadow Detector visor went up.

"What's that thing?" Justin asked.

"It's Pat's Shadow Detector. It's apparently tied into the Snag Machine system, and pops up when a Shadow Pokemon is being used." Brendan replied.

"I knew _that._"

The visor's white cursor actually split in two, and centered on both of the guy's Pokemon!

"Huntail. Level 27. Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Storm and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Gorebyss. Level 27. Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Okay, buddy, OUT WITH IT! What are you doing with Shadow Pokemon?" I asked angrily.

"What? Shadow Pokemon? HA! Like those are real; they're just myths."

"HMPH! I beg to differ... Command your Huntail to use Shadow Storm."

"Fine. Huntail Shadow Storm now."

Huntail's eyes began glowing a purple color, and he created a large dark cloud. A devastating, purple tornado with lightning crackling around it appeared, and was sent off at me. I walked out of its path, and it dissipated.

"Uh... I'm still not convinced! I, Neil, gate guarder of Lieno, will defeat you!"

"Hmm... Fine then. I'll use only _one _Pokemon. I choose you! MILOTIC!"

From an Ultra Ball and a blast of yellowish-white light, Milotic appeared.

"Miiiiii..." she (The first female Pokemon Snagged!) hummed.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-two battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Milotic vs. Neil's Huntail and Gorebyss

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Milotic, begin with Shadow Down." I said.

With its eyes glowing a purple color, Milotic unleashed a wave of black and purple energy at Gorebyss and Huntail, dramatically lowering their Defense.

"And now use Shadow Storm."

Milotic's eyes shone purple again, and a small dark purple cloud appeared in front of her, with black lightning. _Two _tornadoes were spawn from the storm, and they rammed into Huntail and Gorebyss at half the move's regular power and weren't very effective, but still took off some HP, due to the Defense decreases.

"Grr...! No one passes Neil! Huntail, use Crunch and Gorebyss, use Psychic!"

Huntail's large teeth began glowing a dark color, and it began towards Milotic with its mouth opened more. Gorebyss' eyes began glowing a blue color, and the same color enveloped Milotic, which swung the Water Element about using psychic energy.

Huntail, after Psychic ended, bit down with its teeth onto Milotic's neck, causing more damage to the poor Pokemon.

"Milotic, get rid of that thing with Water Gun!"

Milotic, straining due to the pain from Crunch, lowered its head down towards Huntail, opened its mouth, and blasted a beam of blue water at Huntail, knocking it into the ground and off Milotic's neck. However, Huntail was forced off, and left a few scratch marks with its teeth, which brought constant stinging pain to Milotic.

"Grr... Finish it up with Surf, Milotic!"

The graceful Water Pokemon lifted up its spiked head and called out with its mystic voice, and a large wave of water appeared behind it, which grew and grew, lifting her up onto the tip. It crashed down onto Huntail and continued towards Gorebyss and hit.

"Here's Snag Ball number one!" I shouted. A Great Ball with a red aura was in my Snag Machine hand, and I tossed it out onto Gorebyss, who was vacuumed up as red light. The blue-topped Ball fell to the ground and wiggled constantly, stopping after a while.

"Bingo! And now, I just have to wait a second for my Machine to charge..." I mumbled. Neil was in complete paralyzing shock, which gave my Snag Machine time to charge up!

"And here's number TWO!" I yelled, throwing another red-illuminated Great Ball, this time onto Huntail. He was also sucked up, and the sphere wobbled around a lot, and ceased.

"What... Just... Happened...?" Neil said in a stutter.

Before he could react, I ran up and grabbed the Snag Balls, and tossed Huntail to Brendan, and Gorebyss to May.

"You big thief! Stealing another's Pokemon! WHO ARE YOU?!" Neil yelled.

"I am Pat McClintock, the one who holds the key to Orre's Cipher-less future. I Snagged your Pokemon. Your **_SHADOW POKEMON!_**"

"Yeah, right!"

"Listen, Neil..." I walked up to him and grabbed his collars, lifting him up off the ground. "Ever heard the name Michael?"

"...Maybe..."

"Well, he's done the same thing I just did: _Snagging _Shadow Pokemon. Have you heard of Cipher?"

"..."

"They are the ones producing these fiendish... yet cool... creatures, and wreaking havoc with them! We're Purifying them, AKA getting rid of their Shadow-ness. _Got it?_" I gave him a stern look into his eyes.

"Grr... FINE! Sounds reasonable... And Cipher _is _real... I've been a big pain in the butt. If you guys are looking for a challenge, head to the Coliseum. That's where I got my Gorebyss and Huntail; from weird people in black and white clothes."

Neil pointed to a huge tower with a big silver half-sphere at the top, with the bolded, golden letters **WELCOME TO LIENO COLISEUM **at the entrance, on the ground.

"Thanks, Neil." He walked off.

"Well, guys... That big Coliseum is our text target. Begin operation Coliseum Conquest NOW!" We all entered the city officially, as well as May entering the first Coliseum round...

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Round One**_

May walked up from a flight of stairs, and so did her first opponent, a male in his late teens with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white t-shirt with a sleeveless blue blazer, blue jeans, and white sneakers. May also had on my Snag Machine, on her left arm, just in case.

"Let's get it on!" shouted May's opponent.

A mechanical screen appeared on a pole on the left side of the field, in front of the audience but below their viewpoint. It read **May vs. **(She entered by her first name only, because I CAN'T COME UP WITH GOOD LAST NAME!) **Ty. GO!**

"I choose you...! Mightyena!" May shouted, throwing a Great Ball out.

With a burst of light, the Mightyena Snagged from Tabitha appeared, and let out a snarl.

"Oh, yeah?" Ty smirked. "I choose you, Cacnea!"

Ty threw a Poke Ball, and the Grass Element Cacnea popped out. Cacnea had a green spherical body with a golden crown-like flower on its head between four dark-green spikes, long green arms with dark green spikes at the end, black circles on its chest, and dark-green, spiked-shaped feet.

"Cacnea!" cried out the Grass Element.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.

May's Mightyena vs. Ty's Cacnea

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Cacnea, begin with Growth!" Ty shouted.

Cacnea's look became determined, and it seemed to grow bigger. It shrank back down, and increased its Special Attack.

"Mightyena, use Shad..." May started to say.

'Oops. Better not use a Shadow move...' she thought.

"Use Bite!"

Mightyena pounced towards Cacnea with its fangs blaring and colored a dark color. The Dark Element bit down on Cacnea and jumped back, a few steps from Cacnea, who had recovered from Bite.

"Follow up with Take Down!"

With enormous force, Mightyena rammed itself into its Grass foe, which lowered Cacnea's HP to the low yellows and recoiled Mightyena, dropping down its HP a bit.

"Cacnea, go! Needle Arm!"

With the spikes on its arm glowing a white color, Cacnea launched itself at Mightyena, still going back to his spot, with a swinging arm. He struck the canine Pokemon with his arm harshly, delivering a critical hit, and severe Hit Point damage.

"No, Mightyena!" May cried out. "Uh... Attack with... Shadow Ball!"

Mightyena was knocked to the ground from the force of Needle Arm, but opened its mouth and formed a dark, crackling sphere of energy in it. The sphere enlarged, and then was unleashed onto Cacnea, which knocked the Grass Element onto its back, knocked out. May had won the first match!

The screen aside from the field read: **Winner: MAY! **in bolded red letters, with a photo of her head beside her name. Ty and May both recalled their Pokemon to their Balls, and congratulated each other on a good battle, then walked into the waiting room for their next battle, or rather May did the last part.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**_Lieno Coliseum:_**

_**Round Two**_

May and her opponent again walked up a flight of stairs onto the battlefield. The screen from before popped up again, this time reading: **May vs. Dusty. GO!**

May threw out two Poke Balls, one being a Great Ball, this time, from which her Furret and new Gorebyss appeared.

"Furret!" said Furret.

"Gorebyss!" called out Gorebyss.

The one facing May was Dusty, a man in his 30's, with large glasses, blond hair, and a yellow mustache, wearing a yellowish-green colored shirt with many pockets, the same-colored shorts, white socks, and brown boots.

"I now call to the field..." Dusty shouted, throwing two Ultra Balls onto the field, "Donphan and Sandshrew!"

From the two spheres appeared a Donphan, and a Sandshrew, a Ground Element with a yellow-colored, rodent-like body with a white underside, white claws, black eyes, and also with a brick-like pattern on its back.

"Donphan!" cried Donphan.

"Shrew..." mumbled Sandshrew.

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

May's Furret and Gorebyss vs. Dusty's Donphan and Sandshrew

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gorebyss, now! Begin with Agility!"

Gorebyss closed its eyes, and then made a mad dash around the battlefield and stopped, increasing its Speed tremendously.

"Sandshrew, use Sandstorm!" Dusty yelled.

Sandshrew brought its arms in toward its stomach, forming a brown sphere. He released it, causing a wicked Sandstorm to whip up. It bombarded Gorebyss and Furret continuously.

"No!" May cried.

"Donphan, use Body Slam!"

Once the blinding sand cleared for a while, Donphan threw his massive elephant-like body onto Furret, smashing it into the ground slightly. The Ground Element jumped back to its previous position.

"Now's my chance... Furret, start this off! Quick Attack that Donphan!"

With white light trailing it, Furret sprinted at Donphan and rammed it powerfully.

"Gorebyss, use Surf! NOW!"

Gorebyss focused its eyes, and a small body of water appeared behind it. A large wave rose up, carrying the pink Water-Type on top, barreling towards Donphan and Sandshrew, then crashed down on them both. The super effective hit took out Donphan, and almost did the same to Sandshrew.

"YEAH!" May cheered.

"Return, Donphan!" Dusty shouted. He held out his collapsed Pokemon's Ball and recalled it.

May's Furret and Gorebyss vs. Dusty's Sandshrew

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Sandshrew, use Rock Smash! On... Furret!" shouted Dusty.

Sandshrew's left fist glowed an orange-brown color, and he struck the ground, making a series of cracks speed towards Furret. They reached the Normal-Type and delivered a super effective blow using a few rocks, and a small beam of the energy from Sandshrew's hand. While weak, Rock Smash did take off some HP.

"Furret, use... ICE BEAM!" May yelled while smirking confidently.

Opening its mouth, Furret formed an icy blue sphere of energy in front of its mouth. From the orb of energy, a thunderbolt-like beam shot out at Sandshrew, delivering the super-effective knockout blow.

"YES! WE WON!" May cheered as Sandshrew flopped to the ground and was recalled.

"Good show, girl... Nice." Dusty said, walking to the elevator.

The screen showed **Winner: MAY! **on it, and she walked back to the waiting room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**_Lieno Coliseum:_**

_**Semifinals**_

May walked back to her trainers' spot, and she saw her opponent...

"NEIL?!" cried May in shock.

"Heh..." chuckled May's opponent, the Neil from before. "I'll be competing in every competition you guys fight in, at least in Lieno."

"Okay, then."

**May vs. Neil. GO!**

"I choose you! Eevee!" May called out, throwing her Eevee's Poke Ball.

"Vee!" Eevee squeaked after emerging.

"Hmm... Come on out Charmander!" Neil shouted, throwing a Great Ball out.

From the burst of white/blue light came a Charmander, a Fire-Type with a lizard-like body, which was colored orange on the backside and yellowish on the belly and underside, with large bluish eyes, white claws, two small front teeth, and a flame at the tip of its tail.

"Char-char!" grunted the Pokemon.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no substitutions or time limits.

May's Eevee vs. Neil's Charmander

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Charmander, start us off with Swords Dance!"

Charmander's arms crossed, making an X, and three large white swords appeared around the Fire Elemental. They slashed each other and disappeared, which boosted Charmander's Attack stat a lot.

"Follow up with Brick Break!"

With a brown-red encased fist, Charmander began running towards Eevee, ready to hit.

"Eevee, dodge Brick Break and use Dig!"

Eevee saw the oncoming Charmander and jumped out of range when he tried to hit, and then dug into the ground swiftly, making a hole.

"...Hmm... Ah! Charmander, use Dragon Rage into the hole!"

Charmander drew in a breath and began to glow a green color, leaned over so his opened mouth was over the hole, and formed an orange ball in front of his mouth. Crackling, he let it fly into the incomplete tunnel.

"NOW EEVEE!" May yelled.

Eevee dug out behind Charmander and tackled it from behind with some dirt and dust around it, shaving off a lot of HP, and then dodged the Dragon Rage attack that was still in "orbit", which made it hit Charmander, KO'ing it.

"Charmander!" cried Neil. "...Return!" He recalled his fainted Fire-Type, and thanked it for a good battle.

"Next up! I call to the field... Totodile!"

From another Great Ball, a Totodile popped out from the burst of light.

"Toto-toto-toto!" it grunted while dancing.

May sweat-dropped. 'Well, there's someone to set an example for Pat's Croconaw...' she thought.

May's Eevee vs. Neil's Totodile

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Totodile, use our combo! LeerPunch!"

Totodile's eyes glowed a red color briefly, which brought fear into Eevee's, lowering the latter's Defense. The crocodilian Pokemon then lurched towards Eevee, and brought out its right hand, now a fist, which was glowing a brilliant white color. Totodile slammed its fist into Eevee's body, which knocked it out with KO-power to spare!

'What was...? Oh, man! Leer and then Focus Punch!' gasped May in her head, while recalling Eevee.

"Good, Eevee... And now, I choose Furret!"

From a Poke Ball, May's Furret appeared.

"Furret!"

May's Furret vs. Neil's Totodile

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Furret, go! Use Shock Wave!"

A blue lightning sphere formed in front of Furret's face, and from it shot out thousands of blue bolts of electricity, which hit and... Well, shocked Totodile harshly. Furret dealt a super effective move out onto the Water-Type.

"And now! While he's stunned, follow up with Quick Attack!" May shouted.

Furret dashed towards the momentarily paralyzed Totodile with white light trailing its long tail, and slammed into Totodile, delivering the knockout blow!

"..." Neil blinked. "That was quick. Grr..." He recalled his collapsed Pokemon.

"Okay, now for my last Pokemon! Help me win this battle, Hitmontop!"

Neil threw a Poke Ball into the air, and from a burst of light appeared a Hitmontop, a Fighting-Type with a brown-colored head with a horn on the top and wing-shaped objects protruding from the sides of its head, a circular blue body with a brown triangle at the top, which was its neck, two brown legs with white stripes of tape before the feet, white claws, and a tail that looked just like its legs.

"Hit-mon... TOP!" Hitmontop cried out with its high-pitched voice, spinning around quickly.

May's Furret vs. Neil's Hitmontop

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Hitmontop, Bulk Up!"

Hitmontop drew in a deep breath, and then exhaled, focusing his power, which boosted the Fighting-Type's Attack and Defense.

"And now, Focus Energy!"

Hitmontop crouched this time, putting its small brown hands into an x-shape, closed its eyes, and opened them a few seconds later. All this boosted his Critical Hit ratio.

"Go, Furret! Use Flamethrower!"

Breathing in and then out, Furret let loose a beam of red and orange fire towards Hitmontop.

"Heh..." Neil smirked. "Hitmontop, spin!"

His Fighting Pokemon began to spin wildly, and as the fiery blast hit Hitmontop, it was blown away by the force of the spin!

"What?!" cried May. "Grr... Furret, stop Flamethrower and use Iron Tail!"

Furret stopped exhaling fire, and began to dash towards its opponent as its tail began to glow a metallic color. Furret jumped up upon reaching Hitmontop, and began to strike him with its tail.

"Now, Hitmontop! Counter it!"

Hitmontop spun around again, forming a scarlet shield around himself. The defensive attack deflected Iron Tail back onto Furret, at double the power.

"No! Furret!" May cried out.

"Finish it off, Hitmontop, with Brick Break!"

For once, Hitmontop stood on its two feet, and his hands began to glow a reddish-brown color, and Hitmontop unleashed the attack in two punches on Furret, knocking it out with a strong, super-effective attack.

"Aw, man..." sighed May as she recalled her Pokemon. "Nice Furret... You did good..."

She growled, looking at Hitmontop.

'That thing is SO TOUGH! It can deflect my beam attacks like that Flamethrower, AND my offensive attacks! How am I gonna beat it...?!'

Finally, May just grabbed a Ball from her waist and threw it in the air, calling out:

"Go, whoever you are!"

In the crowd...

Justin, Brendan, and I were sitting in the left part of the crowd, cheering May on. Brendan even had little flags and stuff with words like **May 4-Ever**, and **YOU'RE DA BEST, MAY!**.

"What is she doing? Any good Pokemon trainer should always know the Pokemon their choosing to use!" Justin said.

"Yes, but you wouldn't know from personal experience..." I mumbled quietly.

"GRR! Oh, _sure!_"

"Knock it off guys!" shouted Brendan.

From the burst of yellowish light from the opened Poke Ball erupted a large shape of light, which further became a Beautifly, a Bug/Flying Element with a monarch-butterfly-like body; a black body with a white underside, four small, white legs, two large blue eyes, a long, curly, black tongue, two black antennae, and two large black wings with gold, red, and blue markings on it. Shiny sparkles also erupted from the Ball with Beautifly.

"Bea-u-ti... FLY-Y-Y!" shrieked Beautifly happily.

"Is that May's Contest-winning..." Justin tried to say, his mouth agape.

"Yep. That's May's second strongest Pokemon _and _second Pokemon she got, second only to her Blaziken in both categories." Brendan said, grinning.

"Humph..." I huffed. "It can win those ridiculous Contests... But can it win in a _real _battle? A battle of toughness, endurance, and wit?"

"Grr...!" Brendan growled as a red anger cross popped up on his forehead.

"Alright! Beautifly... It's SHOWTIME!" May cheered.

May's Beautifly vs. Neil's Hitmontop

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Beautifly, use Giga Drain!"

A green orb of energy formed in front of the dual-type's curled tongue, and the same appeared in front of Hitmontop. With a burst, several energy streams came out from Hitmontop's orb to Beautifly's, which took off some serious HP from the Fighting Elemental.

"You can't really deflect that attack..." May smirked. "Beautifly, finish that Hitmontop off with Aerial Ace!"

Flapping its wings swiftly, Beautifly disappeared into thin air.

"Be on your guard, Hitmontop..." Neil cautioned. "Prepare to Counter!"

Hitmontop crouched onto its knee and began to slowly form a red-orange shield.

May could feel Beautifly's presence behind her, and whispered...

"Use Mega Drain! Just like we practiced!"

With a flash of green, another, smaller green sphere of energy appeared in front of Hitmontop and Beautifly, who became visible again. Energy streams from Hitmontop's orb burst out, and went into Beautifly's sphere. Hitmontop fell down after its Counter shield broke, knocked out.

"My... My Hitmontop!" Neil cried out.

"Yeah! We won, Beautifly!" May cheered.

"Beau!" Beautifly nodded its head.

Hitmontop and Beautifly were returned to their respective Poke Balls, and their trainers walked towards each other.

"Nice, May. That surprise attack caught me off guard." Neil congratulated.

"Yeah, but your Hitmontop was really tough! This was a great battle!" May said.

She and Neil walked to the elevators they came from, and Neil went into the crowd, demoted to spectator instead of battler.

**Winner: MAY! **read the screen.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**_Lieno Coliseum:_**

**_Finals_**

It all came down to this... The last battle of this go-through. May had the ability and willpower to claim victory...

She walked to her trainer's box from where she was deposited by the elevator, and her opponent walked to her spot as well.

"A CIPHER PEON!?" cried May.

"What, you figured you'd fight an ordinary person? Keh-keh-keh!" The Cipher Peon had reddish-brown hair, barely visible with her helmet on, and a British accent.

"Grr..."

"But surely you can pull off a victory! I'm only a Peon."

The screen was now attached to the wall, and read: **May vs. Nimblis. GO!**

"I choose you two, Mightyena and Gorebyss!"

From two Balls May tossed out, her Mightyena and Gorebyss appeared from flashes of light.

"Gor-r-r-re!" Gorebyss fluctuated, flipping its tail back and forth.

"Mightyena..." Mightyena growled.

"Nicely played, girl. How about a scuffle with these? Come out, my duckies!" Nimblis said, throwing two Poke Balls out.

From them both appeared a Koffing, a Poison-Type with a circular purple shape, red mouth with two white fangs, yellow gas coming from large pores, and a yellow skull-and-crossbones mark.

"Koffing! Koffing!" they both grunted.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no time limit or substitutions.

May's Mightyena and Gorebyss vs. Cipher Peon Nimblis' Koffing and Koffing

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Mightyena, use Howl!"

Mightyena let out a loud howl from its mouth, boosting its Attack.

"Koffing, use Toxic on that Gorebyss!"

The Koffing on the left opened its mouth, and from it came a blob of purple poison, sent hurling at Gorebyss.

"Gorebyss, destroy Toxic with Water Gun!"

From the tip of its needle-shaped nose, a small beam of blue water shot at the poison, which resulted in Toxic being eliminated, as well as Water Gun fading.

"Grr..." Nimblis growled.

It was then that, up in the crowd, I remembered something from the real world...

'YAH! Nimblis is that idiot on Mount Battle that uses the Selfdestruct or Explosion/Protect combo! I gotta warn May!'

Pulling my PDA out, I quickly sent a warning to May, who also had a PDA, which I had bought for her and Brendan. She pulled hers out and read the message, and gave me a thumbs-up.

"Okay, then... Gorebyss! Use Psychic!"

Gorebyss' eyes began to glow a soft blue color, and a wave of psychic energy of the same color shot from in front of Gorebyss' nose at the left Koffing, which delivered a super-effective blow to the Poison Elemental.

"Ha! And now, Mightyena! Use Shadow Ball on the other one!"

Between Mightyena's jaws, a crackling black ball of energy formed, and began to grow. After some major growth, Mightyena unleashed the crackling sphere onto the right-side Koffing, which took a large toll off of Koffing's HP.

"THAT... IS... IT! Koffing on the left, use Protect! And Koffing on the right..." Nimblis began to smirk as one Koffing made a golden shield around itself.

"...Use EXPLOSION!"

"Uh-oh!" May cried out.

"Oh, crud..." Justin groaned.

"DON'T HURT MY MAY!" Brendan yelled.

"Mammamia..." I moaned.

A whitish-red glow surrounded the second Koffing, and it exploded, in a dark red atomic-bomb-blast form. The eruption brought an automatic KO to the user Koffing, and Mightyena and Gorebyss as well, due to its power. Only the Protecting Koffing survived, whom also stopped producing his shield.

"I hate your strategy..." May growled.

"Why?" Nimblis asked as they both recalled their fainted Pokemon.

"Because Pokemon shouldn't be treated like that! They shouldn't even learn a move which causes them to faint automatically! Just isn't right!"

"Oh, simmer down, girl. They're just for battling! Who cares about them?"

'...Nimblis has a point.' I thought, and then shook my head in response.

"WHATEVER! Maybe to a lousy Cipher Member like you... But not me. And so... It's time you learned that lesson. I choose you!" May threw a Poke Ball, which had a glistening flame mark of red and orange on the top center, out onto the field. "BLAZIKEN!"

As soon as the words ran through Brendan's, Justin's, and my ears, we all watched as a large beam of white light erupted from the Poke Ball. It took the form of a Blaziken, a Fire/Fighting Element with a red face and somewhat beak-like mouth, yellow eyes, two sharp and thin appendages coming from the top of its head, a red middle body, small tail, and legs, with yellow flares about half way up the legs also, tan-colored or white down-facing wing-shaped feathers on the head and behind its back, and the same colored feathers on its chest with a yellow triangle below. Its arms were red until below its elbow, which from there were dark gray with yellow and red flames sprouting from the wrists, gray fingers and white claws. Barely visible underneath the fur/feathers on its legs were gray feet with white claws, and a gray, sharp claw on the back of its legs. (Ow. Fingers.)

"BLAZIKEN!" roared the awesome Pokemon, with the flames on its wrist sprouting out more.

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Nimblis muttered.

"Did she just _mock a Blaziken?_" I asked.

"Yup." replied Justin.

"SHUT UP, NIMBLIS!" May yelled.

"Heh... Well, here's my Pokemon, girlie. Come on out, Relicanth!"

From a Great Ball Nimblis threw appeared a Relicanth, a Rock/Water Element with a brown body and tan designs on it, a tan, rock-like face with closed eyes and no teeth, a red dot on the body, three small brown fins on each side of its fish-like body, a longer top fin with tan designs blotted on the tip, and a swordfish's top fin-shaped tail fin.

"Reli-canth..." it said in a deep voice.

And that's when the Shadow Detector visor on May's shoulder went up, and centered its on-screen cursor onto Relicanth.

"Relicanth. Level 30. Rock/Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Down and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON!" However, the computer's voice had become slightly deeper and slower...

"A Shadow Pokemon!"

'Heh-heh-heh... Finally, a chance to Snag something MYSELF.' thought May, grinning smugly.

May's Blaziken vs. CP Nimblis' Koffing and Relicanth

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Okay, Blaziken! Use Bulk Up!" May ordered.

Blaziken closed its yellow eyes and drew in a deep breath, and then relaxed, boosting his Defense and Attack stats.

"And now, Focus Energy!"

He also stuck his hands out horizontally and did a series of Tai-Chi moves with closed eyes, focusing his mind and boosting his Critical Hit ratio.

"Koffing, use Sludge Bomb! Relicanth, use Shadow Blitz!"

Koffing opened its mouth and shot several blobs of purple poison at Blaziken. The Fire/Fighting dual type simply hopped out of the way. However, it didn't see the next attack coming; Relicanth had rammed towards Blaziken with a purple haze surrounding its body, and struck Blaziken with the super-effective Shadow attack, but still barely did anything.

"My Blaziken is tougher than you may think, Nimblis." May smirked. "We've been together in Hoenn, Kanto, and even when I went to Johto."

"Yeah, for your baby Contests!"

"THEY AREN'T FOR BABIES! Blaziken, finish off Koffing with a Slash attack!"

With its claws glowing a whitish color, Blaziken jumped at Koffing and slashed its face twice, delivering a critical blow to Koffing. Two side effects took place; one, Koffing was KO'd and its eyes became swirls, and two, a diagonal tic-tac-toe pattern was put on Koffing's purple face.

"Great Scott!" cried Nimblis.

"Yeah! Go, Blaziken!" May cheered.

"Well, I still have my Shadow Pokemon." Nimblis said angrily after recalling Koffing to its Ball.

May's Blaziken vs. CP Nimblis' Relicanth

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Time to dish out the hurt! Relicanth, Dive!"

A pool of water somehow appeared below Relicanth, and the Rock/Water Pokemon dove down into it, unable to be seen.

"Hmm... Where is it?" questioned May, looking around the field. Her Blaziken did as well.

Suddenly, another pool of water appeared underneath Blaziken, and Relicanth shot out of it and tackled from below, sending Blaziken skyrocketing.

"And now, Relicanth, use Water Pulse!"

Relicanth opened its mouth and formed a glowing blue sphere of water energy. It grew larger, and shot at the still airborne Blaziken swiftly, delivering another harsh, super-effective hit.

"No! BLAZIKEN!" cried May as she watched her beloved Pokemon fall.

Blaziken was able to land onto its feet, without and injuries from the landing.

"Oh yeah! Blaziken, use Ember!"

Breathing in deeply, Blaziken blew out from its mouth several groups of burning orange fireballs, which flew at Relicanth and hit. While dramatically ineffective, the Fire attack from the powerful Pokemon was able to scratch out a lot of Relicanth's HP, putting it in the low greens.

"Follow up with Scratch!"

With a swift leg movement, Blaziken went airborne and flew at its opponent, and scratched its face. This attack was able to bring Relicanth into the low yellows, though not very effective.

"Now's my chance..." May said. She grabbed a Great Ball from her hip pouches and slid it into the Snag Machine. It came out in her hand with a red aura, and May threw it at Relicanth. The sphere tapped the Rock/Water-Type and opened up, sucking it up in red light.

The blue-and-red-topped Ball dropped to the ground and shook about several times, and stopped after a while.

"OH YEAH! I SNAGGED A SHADOW POKEMON!" May cheered gleefully. With Nimblis in shock, May ran to the Great Ball and grabbed it from the ground.

Since the crowd knew about Shadow Pokemon and my "team", "Team Pat", no one questioned what had transpired.

"I told you she could do it." Brendan smirked.

"Did not." I replied, giving him a stern look.

"Oh, _sure!_" retorted Justin.

Nimblis was carried away by security, and probably to the police.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day would be Brendan's challenge, so we all met up in the Pokemon Center.

"That was great, May. I thought that only those who had upper body strength could Snag." I congratulated. May had given the Snag Machine to Brendan.

"Yeah, thanks, Pat. Hey, WAIT! I HAVE UPPER BODY STRENGTH!" A red anger cross appeared on May's head, and her yelling made me flinch back into a stiff position.

All other people in the room looked at May like she was crazy, and then continued what they were doing when Brendan gave them all a harsh glare.

"Uh... Anyway..." said May softly, with a small sweat drop on her head.

"That Relicanth is MINE!" declared Justin, grabbing the Great Ball containing Relicanth, which was on a nearby table.

"No way, Jose! I caught it!" May said.

"I WANT IT!" Brendan yelled.

A sigh escaped my lips as everyone in the room looked at the scuffle.

"Break it up, guys. Justin, you can have it, but only because you're new to the team. And... my best friend."

"Thanks, Pat!" Justin pulled away from May and Brendan, holding the Ball.

"I'll call it... TerraMarine."

"What?" Brendan questioned.

"TerraMarine. Terra-kinesis is the ability to control rocks and dirt, and Marine is... Well, a word relating to the sea, so..."

"Sounds like a girl's name to me..." Brendan whispered to May.

"Too true." she replied.

"Oh, _sure!_" growled back Justin.

The three got in another scuffle, causing me to sweat drop and sigh again...

PM: I wanted to make all four Lieno challenges in one Chapter, but I won't. The Chapter would be, like, 400 Kilobytes, AKA way too long.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

A _Colossal _Event, Pt. 2: Brendan's Brawls!

Two days later, after May's challenge...

_**Lieno Coliseum**_

_**Round One**_

Brendan, who was wearing my Snag Machine on his left arm, rose up in the elevator to the Coliseum battle field, and walked to his trainer's box. His opponent walked to her spot. According to the screen, her name was Sil. She had long black hair and blue eyes, wearing a pink tank top, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

"Prepare for the battle of your lifetime!" Sil shouted as she threw a Poke Ball into the air.

From the white energy that burst out came a Gloom.

"Gloom..." it moaned.

"Ha! That's all?" Brendan chuckled smugly. "I choose Seviper!"

Brendan lobbed the Ball containing Seviper into the air, and the Poison Element appeared.

"Se... VIPER!" yelled the, uh... f-frightening Pokemon.

"MOMMY!" I cried out at the sight of the Pokemon. May, who was sitting right beside me, patted my shoulder and said:

"Calm down, Pat..."

I laughed in an oafish way and blushed in response.

"Mm..." Justin closed his eyes and sweat dropped.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.

Brendan's Seviper vs. Sil's Gloom

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Seviper, start with Screech!"

Seviper opened its mouth and let out a loud scream, which made three yellow sound waves hurtle towards Gloom.

"Gloom, use Sludge Bomb!"

From its dark blue mouth, Gloom launched a barrage of purple poison missiles at Seviper. They went through the screech rings, and both Pokemon were hit by the other's attack, therefore reducing Gloom's Defense and Seviper's HP.

"Seviper, come on! Use Double-Edge!"

Seviper jumped from its position towards Gloom with some faint orange light behind it, and neared the Grass/Poison Element.

"Quick, Gloom! Endure!" Sil said.

Glowing an orange shade, Gloom's HP automatically went to 1 from Double-Edge. That, in turn, increased the recoil damage for Seviper, which put its HP in the low greens.

"Follow up with Flail!"

Gloom got on its back, and then flopped around on the ground, smacking Seviper severely.

"Ah! Seviper, no! Use..." Brendan smirked. "Flamethrower!"

Seviper opened its mouth, despite the pain of Flail, and spat out a beam of fire onto Gloom. At that range, the attack was critical and super effective, but any offensive move would've defeated Gloom from its low HP.

"I won! Oh yeah! It's my birthday! Go Brendan! It's my..." Brendan cheered, doing a series of ridiculous "dance" moves. I tossed a small pebble at him, which hit his head and stopped his dumb rant.

Seviper and Gloom were recalled to their Balls, and Sil and Brendan met in the center of the field.

"That was a nice battle, Brendan..." said Sil softly.

"Yeah! It was great!"

"Hee-hee... I may see you later..." Sil then did something unexpected: she leaned up to Brendan's height and kissed his lips briefly, and then ran to her elevator.

"Wha... Ha-ha-ha..." Brendan laughed. He fell down out of embarrassment.

"THAT LITTLE FLIRT!" May roared angrily. Her face turned demonic and evil.

"Calm down, May..." I said, patting her shoulder.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum**_

_**Round Two**_

Brendan once again stepped up to the plate, only with a small ice patch under his headband from the pebble I hit him with.

"Well, I guess I'd better not bust any of my moves this time..." he moaned.

His next opponent was Kenny, a boy with a red t-shirt, green shorts, sneakers, white socks, and a blue baseball cap on his head, with green eyes and dark brown hair.

Kenny held two both Great Ball, and tossed them into the air.

"Come on out, Swalot and Dodrio!"

From two flashed of bluish white light came a Swalot, a Poison Element with a large purple body, two small hands, a small pair of lips with a yellow "whisker" on each side, black diamonds in a ring on its body, and two small red eyes. Beside it was a Dodrio, a Flying/Normal dual Element with three tan necks and three brown-feathered heads with yellow beaks and two black head feathers on each head, a brown-feathered body with pinkish-red tail feathers, and tan legs with white talons.

"Swalot..."

"Dodrio!"

"I'm calling out Huntail and Golbat!" Brendan yelled.

Brendan tossed two Great Balls up, and his Golbat and Huntail erupted from them.

"GOLBAT!"

"Hunt!"

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitution.

Brendan's Huntail and Golbat vs. Kenny's Swalot and Dodrio

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Swalot, begin with Amnesia and Acid Armor!"

Swalot's face became a look of great confusion, boosting its Special Defense greatly. It also waved its small stubby arms, forming a toxic shield that encased its body and glowed purple, boosting Defense greatly.

"Huntail, use Rain Dance!"

A small blue sphere formed in Huntail's mouth, and disappeared. Several thunderstorm clouds appeared overhead, and began pouring down rain.

"Anyone got an umbrella?" May moaned. She looked beside her to see Justin and I had two.

"GRR!" May clutched onto me to stay out of the rain's path, which caused another oafish laugh to come from my mouth, and a slight red blush appeared on my face.

"And now, Huntail! Use Surf!"

Behind Huntail formed a very large body of water, which became a wave. It picked up Huntail, who surfed atop, and gathered speed and width. It crashed down onto Swalot and Dodrio, and was powered up by the rain.

"Seviper, go! Use Bite!"

Seviper's two front fangs began to glow a dark color, and the serpentine Pokemon lurched towards Dodrio and bit down on the left leg of the Bird Pokemon.

"And now, Seviper, use Poison Tail!"

Keeping its mouth in position, Seviper's scythe-like tail glowed a poisonous purple color at the pink blade, and whipped up and struck Dodrio's body, causing a critical hit to Dodrio. Seviper also stopped Biting, for its victim had fainted and fallen onto the ground.

"Darn it..." muttered Kenny, recalling Dodrio to its Ball.

Brendan's Seviper and Huntail vs. Kenny's Swalot

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Swalot, use Amnesia and Acid Armor again!" Kenny shouted to his Swalot.

Swalot, once again, gained a confused look for a brief second, upping its Special Defense greatly, and was encased in a swirling purple coat of armor, increasing its Defense a lot.

"Aw, crud! That doesn't help me one bit..." Brendan growled. "Seviper, use Crunch!"

Seviper's fangs began to glow a dark color again as its struck toward its prey.

"You too, Huntail!"

Huntail lurched forward as well, with same-colored teeth. Both Seviper and Huntail chomped onto Swalot, but neither caused much damage to the Poison Type. However, once they retreated back to Brendan's side, a small green energy circle swirled down around Swalot, signaling that its Special Defense was dropped somewhat.

"Aw, yeah! Go for the Special!" said Brendan.

"Grr... Use Stockpile, Swalot!"

Swalot opened its enormous, cavernous mouth up, and a blue ball of energy formed inside.

"Uh-oh... I gotta take it out soon!" cried Brendan, knowing what the move could do if joined by one of two others...

"Seviper, go! Quick, use Crunch! And Huntail, use Water Gun!"

From Huntail's mouth, a beam of water blasted onto Swalot, not doing much from the still high Special Defensive stat. Seviper launched itself and its glowing teeth again at Swalot and bit on it, encircling it in another green spiral, lowering the Poison-Type's HP and Special Defense even more.

"Stockpile, Swalot!"

The ball in Swalot's mouth grew bigger.

"Grr..." Brendan growled.

"And now, Swalot! Spit Up!"

Swalot swallowed the Stockpile energy, and then spit it back up in the form of a wave of yucky, brown goop.

"EEW!" May and I cried out at the sight of the gross attack.

"Yuck..." Justin groaned.

"WATCH OUT, GUYS!" cried Brendan. "USE PROTECT!"

Seviper scrunched up its body to form a golden shield in front of it, and Huntail did the same. The Spit Up attack hit the shields and deflected off towards... _The crowd, mainly where Justin, May and I were sitting!_

"AAH!" Justin cried out.

I whipped out my trusty cloak and shielded us all, and reflected the goop back towards the ground.

"And still sleek!" I smirked as a shiny streak slid across the surface of my cloak.

"Thanks, Pat." Justin and May both said.

Unfortunately, the rest of the crowd got covered in the Spit Up attack, and was pretty ticked off that we were the only defended people... And plotted their revenge...

"Heh-heh!" Brendan grinned. "Finish off Swalot, Seviper! Earthquake!"

Seviper slammed the ground repeatedly, sending waves of orange energy around the field. Huntail, who had kept up Protect the whole time, was able to keep it up long enough to not be hit by Earthquake. Swalot, on the other hand, was hit by the super-effective Ground attack, and flopped onto its side, finally KO'd.

"Whew... I hate defensive Pokemon." Brendan sighed, recalling his Pokemon, thanking them for a good battle.

"Aw, NUTS! I thought I could win!" Kenny cried in anger and frustration. He ran to his elevator and recalled his Swalot on the way.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum**_

_**Semifinals**_

Brendan's next opponent was... Guess who... Neil.

"Howdy, non-stranger!" Brendan greeted.

"Heh. What are you, a comedian?" Neil asked. "Let's battle!"

Neil threw a Poke Ball into the air, and a Growlithe came out, and barked.

"A Growlithe, eh? Well, meet my Huntail! Actually, you should already know him, but..." Brendan's grin faded, and he said into the dull silence of the stadium, "...I'd better just throw the Poke Ball. No one loves a comedian..."

I pulled out a machine labeled Sound FX, and it began the loud chirping of a cricket.

"Grr...!" Brendan's face turned red in anger.

He threw Huntail's Poke Ball into the air, and it popped out in a burst of light.

"Hunt!" it grunted.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no time limit or substitutions.

Brendan's Huntail vs. Neil's Growlithe

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Growlithe, go! Use Roar!" Neil shouted.

Growlithe opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, which made Huntail beam back to its Poke Ball.

"What...? Grr! I choose Golbat!"

Brendan threw Golbat's Great Ball out, and the bat-like Pokemon appeared.

"GOLBAT!"

Brendan's Golbat vs. Neil's Growlithe

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Golbat, use Wing Attack!"

Golbat's purple wings began to glow a white color, and he swooped down, striking Growlithe with its wings.

"Growlithe, no! Use Flamethrower!"

A small spark of fire appeared in Growlithe's mouth, and it soon became a stream of fire that went towards Golbat.

"Quick! Dodge it and use Sludge Bomb!"

Golbat dodged the stream of fire, and then shot several globs of poison at Growlithe.

"Use Flamethrower to deflect them!" Neil countered.

Another stream of red and yellow fire burst forth from Growlithe's canine mouth, which destroyed the Sludge Bomb attack and continued on to hit Golbat, and send it into the air.

"Golbat! Oh, man. That's one tough dog... But... Golbat, use Aerial Ace!"

Golbat regained its senses from Flamethrower and disappeared with a flap of its wings. It reappeared seconds later, slashing at Growlithe with its left wing. Growlithe fainted from the Flying-Type hit.

"Yeah! One down, two to go!" Brendan cheered.

"Gol-bat!" Golbat cheered as well.

"Nice Brendan. I call out Diglett!" Neil said after recalling Growlithe.

From a Great Ball Neil threw appeared a Diglett.

"Dig!" it grunted.

Brendan's Golbat vs. Neil's Diglett

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Golbat, use Screech! And follow up with Shadow Ball!"

From Golbat's large mouth emitted a loud screech, which took the form of two yellow sound wave rings. They traveled to Diglett and let their scream out, lowering Diglett's Defense a lot, and probably bursting its ear drum. And then, something else formed in Golbat's mouth: a black, crackling ball of energy. It grew large and larger, and finally shot off and hit Diglett, causing an automatic KO, being strong and physical.

"Yeah!" Brendan cheered again, which caused Golbat to cheer as well.

"Okay, Diglett... Return." Neil returned his Diglett to its respectful Poke ball, and pulled out another Great Ball.

"Okay... Watch out, Brendan! For now, I choose Vibrava!"

From the Great Ball and a blue flash of light appeared a Vibrava, a Dragon/Ground dual-Type Pokemon with a yellow, dragonfly-like body with big green-and-black eyes on the sides of its circular head, two pairs of black-lined, green diamond-shaped wings, and four black dragonfly-like feet. It also had two green-and-black diamonds on its tail.

"Vi-bra!" shouted the Dragon Pokemon.

Brendan's Golbat vs. Neil's Vibrava

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Golbat, use Bite!"

Golbat's fangs began to glow a dark color, and it flew towards Vibrava, ready to bite.

"Vibrava, counter with Dragonbreath!"

From in front of Vibrava's mouth, a stream of green flames shot out. They hit Golbat, negating its Bite attack.

"And now, follow up with Rock Slide!"

Vibrava conjured up several large rocks and flung them at Golbat, who was stunned from Dragonbreath, causing a super effective blow to Golbat's HP.

"Grr... Golbat, use Sludge Bomb!"

After regaining its senses from Rock Slide and Dragonbreath, several purple orbs of poison shot out from inside Golbat's mouth.

"Protect yourself, Vibrava! Sandstorm!"

With a flick of its wings, Vibrava formed a whirling dust tornado around itself, deflecting the Sludge Bombs back onto Golbat. The attack was enough to KO the Poison/Flying Element.

"Golbat! Ah... Return." Brendan drew out Golbat's Ball, and the Bat Pokemon was returned to its home in a flash of red.

'Hmm...' Brendan thought. 'I shouldn't use Huntail, since I'm sure Vibrava knows Giga Drain or Solarbeam... Good thing I still have... _This Pokemon._'

Brendan grabbed a Poke Ball at his waist and tossed it up into the air and called out:

"I choose you, Ludicolo!"

"WHAAAAAAAT?! HE STILL HAS THAT?!" May cried out.

"Uh, is there a problem, May?" Justin asked.

"That Ludicolo was Brendan's most-able Pokemon to beat me, besides his Swampert!"

"Oh. Then it must be a high level..."

From the Poke Ball burst a flash of white light, and a Ludicolo materialized from it.

"Lu... DICOLO!" it cheered.

I brought out the Sound FX machine thing again, and it played Miror B.'s disco-beat song, which I had recorded.

"Grr...!" Brendan's face grew red again, and I stopped the music.

Brendan's Ludicolo vs. Neil's Vibrava

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Ludicolo, use Rain Dance!"

A small blue ball appeared in-between Ludicolo's hands, and the weather changed to rain.

"And now, follow up with Hydro Pump!"

In Ludicolo's mouth, a blue water ball appeared. From it shot two twisting water beams. They hit Vibrava, shaving off most of its HP.

"Vibrava! You okay?" Neil asked.

"Vi..." Vibrava groaned. It fluttered up into the air and nodded its head.

"Okay! Use Fly!"

Vibrava flew up with powerful wing lifts, and prepared to come down and strike in a little while.

"Now's my chance! Ludicolo, Ice Beam!"

Another sphere of energy appeared in Ludicolo's mouth, only it was an icy blue. A thunderbolt-like beam shot out at Vibrava, which encased it in an icy prison. Vibrava fell to the ground, which caused the ice to break upon impact. The Ice attack was extremely super effective, therefore knocking out Vibrava!

"YEAH! We did it, Ludicolo!" Brendan cheered.

Ludicolo danced around to celebrate as well, and Neil recalled his fallen Vibrava.

"You did great, Vibrava." he said, looking at the Great Ball. "Great job, Brendan!"

"Thanks, Neil." replied the white-haired trainer.

"Ludi!" grunted Ludicolo. It jumped on top of Brendan in a tackle-hug.

"Alright, back in the Ball!" Brendan returned Ludicolo to its Ball.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Finals**_

Brendan and a Cipher Peon walked to their respective places on the battlefield. The Cipher Peon had black hair, and was a female.

"Heh-heh-heh... Your mine!" the Peon, Idlon, said with a smirk.

"Dream on, woman!" Brendan tossed a Great Ball into the air, and his Seviper came out.

"Seviper!" called the Pokemon.

"AAH! SNAKE!" cried Idlon.

"The girl has the right idea..." I gulped. May and Justin sweat dropped.

"Grr... Taste my Normal power! Go, Furret and Delcatty!"

Idlon threw two Poke Balls up, and a Furret and Delcatty erupted from the white energy.

"Furr-r-r-r-r!"

"Del!"

"Here's my other one: Golbat!"

Another Great Ball was tossed, and Golbat came out.

"Bat!" it grunted.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no substitutions or time limits.

Brendan's Seviper and Golbat vs. CP Idlon's Furret and Delcatty

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Furret, use Quick Attack! Delcatty, use Thunderbolt!" Idlon shouted.

Furret dashed towards Seviper with white light traveling behind it, while Delcatty's purple mane began to glow yellow. Once the glow reached its brightness peak, a large bolt of lightning shot out from the collection of fur. Furret slammed its Quick Attack into Seviper, while the Thunderbolt attack zapped Golbat, delivering a super-effective blow to it.

"Ah!" Brendan gasped. "Grr... You going down, girl!" Another pebble clonked his head, from me.

"GRR! That's it! No more mister nice guy! Seviper, use Poison Tail! Golbat, Poison Fang! NOW!"

With Seviper's tail and Golbat's fangs glowing a purple color, they both made their way towards Delcatty and Furret. Seviper struck Furret with its tail and Delcatty was bitten on by Golbat. Luckily for Brendan, both enemy Pokemon shone a purple color briefly, showing they were Poisoned, with Delcatty's Poisoning being serious.

"Crud..." Idlon groaned.

"HA!" Brendan laughed. "Golbat, use Wing Attack on Furret now! And Seviper, you use Bite on that Delcatty!"

Golbat's wings began to glow a white color, and the Poison/Flying Element began to fly towards its target, Furret. Seviper's fangs started shining too, only a dark color. Seviper lurched forward and prepared to strike Delcatty.

"Furret, use Follow Me!" Idlon shouted.

Furret's long body glowed a white color, which made Seviper turn to attack it. Both Wing Attack and Bite hit the Normal Type, who nearly fainted.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail on Delcatty!"

With its tail glowing purple, Seviper made its way towards Delcatty swiftly.

"Follow Me, Furret!" Idlon ordered.

Furret started the first part of Follow Me, but stopped. Bite had caused it to flinch! And while that went on, Seviper slammed its sharp and poisonous tail into Delcatty in a close range, therefore doing double the damage with a critical hit!

Poison struck both Normal Elements. With both being low on HP, they fainted as it coursed through their bodies and pained them.

"NO! Both of my Pokemon at the SAME TIME! Grr..." Idlon snarled and recalled her Pokemon.

"Time for my last Pokemon... Come on out, Linoone!"

Idlon threw a Great Ball out, and from its blue flash of light appeared a Linoone, a Normal Element with a long, whitish-gray, sleek-furred body with a long tail, four feet, and brown lines and designs on its fur, and two above its blue eyes, along with long, sharp claws.

"Li-noone!" it shouted.

And then, the Shadow Detector on Brendan's Snag Machine arm rose up and went in front of his eyes.

"Linoone." said the contraption. "Level 30. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Storm and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON!" The computer's voice was slightly more slow and deeper...

"A Shadow Pokemon! Aha!" Brendan cried out.

"Surprised, Bleachy?" Idlon smirked.

"My name... Is not... BLEACHY!"

Brendan's Seviper and Golbat vs. CP Idlon's Linoone

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Okay, Linoone! Start with our combo! BellyBerrySlash!"

"What? Is someone gonna have to add something to the dictionary, say, on his computer right now?" Brendan asked. A weird boom, followed by something being broken could be heard. It was my Sound FX machine, and it had played out the "Breaking of the Fourth Wall" sound.

"..." Everyone in the crowd looked at me confusedly.

Anyway, Linoone stood up on its legs and began to hit its stomach repeatedly, which lowered its HP by half but increased its Attack stat to the maximum! But then, Linoone glowed a yellow color. It had eaten a Sitrus Berry, a yellow, red-dotted berry, hanging on its neck to regain all of its lost HP! And after that, Linoone's claws began to glow white, and the swift Pokemon dashed towards Golbat and slashed it, delivering a super-powerful blow to the Poison/Flying Element.

"Golbat!" cried out Brendan.

"Next, Linoone, use Double-Edge!"

With tremendous speed and force, Linoone charged at Seviper. Small, slight orange energy vapors trailed behind the Normal Element as he slammed his whole body into Seviper, doing serious damage to its target... And a fraction of that damage to itself.

"Finish with Surf!" Idlon smirked.

A small body of water formed behind Linoone, and it took the form of a wave. Linoone rode the top as it crashed down onto both of Brendan's Pokemon, who fainted from the series of strong attacks.

"No!" Brendan gasped. He recalled his Pokemon, and grabbed a Poke Ball at his waist, marked with a blue raindrop symbol on the top center, and threw it into the air.

"I always keep this Pokemon with me, just in case I find myself at the losing end of a challenge... So, come on out! SWAMPERT!"

From the burst of white light from the Poke Ball appeared a Swampert, a Water/Ground Element with a dark blue body having a lighter blue underside, with two almost navy blue, round crests on its head, a same-color, larger and fan-shaped tail, orange bumps with lines along them on its lower arms and lower legs, small orange eyes, and an orange circle with two orange spikes protruding from it horizontally.

"Swam...PERT!" Swampert roared out.

May's hair spiked up briefly when she saw Brendan's first Pokemon, most likely because it could defeat her Blaziken easily...

"Well, there it is... Brendan's starter Pokemon in all its glory!" Justin said.

"Ah, May's is better. Swampert are dumb." I mumbled.

"OH, REALLY?!" Justin gritted his teeth angrily.

"You're only acting weird... As usual... Because you like Swampert! And most Ground/Water Types!"

Brendan's Swampert vs. CP Idlon's Linoone

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Okay, Swampert! Use Mud-Slap!"

Swampert licked mud, which came from nowhere, with its left hand at Linoone, which slapped onto the Normal Type's eyes, blinding it momentarily.

"And follow up with Seismic Toss!"

Swampert charged at Linoone, reached out, and grabbed it, and jumped into the air very high. Swampert circled around using the attack, and then began to almost fly down to the ground quickly, slamming Linoone into the hard floor of the coliseum battlefield, causing major damage to Linoone.

"And now...!" Brendan shouted, holding a Great Ball with a red aura. He threw it at Linoone, who was sucked up in red light, with some resistance, and the Great Ball dropped to the ground, wiggling slightly. Soon, it stopped. Linoone was Snagged.

"Dang you, kid!" Idlon grumbled before running away.

"Oh, yeah! I got it!" Whoo-hoo!" Brendan cheered, with his Swampert joining in as well.

**Winner: BRENDAN!**

0o0o0o0o0o0

We celebrated yet another victory at the Pokemon Center. May had claimed Linoone for herself.

"Well, guys..." Justin said, taking a sip from a glass filled with ice and bubbling clear soda. "There goes another battle-filled day."

"Yep. How'd I do? You know, with the Snagging and all that?" Brendan asked. No one replied, since he was asking me... Or trying to.

"Um... Where'd Pat go?" May asked.

"I don't know. How about you, Justin?" Brendan asked.

"He didn't say... Maybe he went to train somewhere. It's not like he should be worried; we still haven't decided who'll take the next challenge."

"Well, one thing's for sure; that Snag Machine's battery must be running low." Brendan changed the subject.

"Why?" asked Justin.

"Well, its voice is slower and, well, just different from whatever I could here from it earlier..."

"Yeah. it was kind of distorted with me too!" May agreed.

Suddenly, the back door to the Pokemon center opened, and I walked out of the door way.

"_I'll _take that." I said with a smirk on my face, grabbing the Snag Machine, which was on a nearby table.

"What? Pat, you're going next?!" my comrades cried out.

"While normally, you'd save the best for last... Justin will be fighting whoever is at the end of our four-challenge... Uh, challenge." I brought the Machine up to our room in the Lieno Pokemon Center, and came back down.

"Whatever you say..." Justin said, with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong, J?" I asked.

"Well, if I have to fight a Cipher Admin, I'm not sure I can do it..."

All other members of Team Pat looked confusedly at Justin, who was showing his less confident side...

PM: Well, there's Brendan's Chapter. R&R.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

A _Colossal_ Event, Pt. 3: My Masterful Might!

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Round One**_

The correct Snag Machine owner, I, walked to the trainer's box, ready for my challenge. However, before my foe came up from his/her elevator, everyone in the crowd had a scheme... _They had kept the goopy stuff from a few days before, that Spit-Up attack, and began throwing it at me!_

"AGH!" I cried out as one blob smacked my head, covering it in a grayish goop. I let out a growl and wiped it off, but it all kept coming!

"Would everyone **_PLEASE...?!_**" I snarled, angrily looking at the crowd.

Everyone continued pelting me with the grayish blobs of a material no one would like to speculate what it is.

Finally, I had had enough. Even my shiny, attack-resistant cloak couldn't help out that, well, now for it was covered up with... Whatever it is. My eyes flashed a green color and became that color briefly, and I yelled:

"**_ENOUGH!_**" A swirl of strange, green energy swept around the people in the large audience, sweeping up the rest of the goopy substance, and splashing it back onto them. A greenish barrier kept my comrades out of the line of fire. Well, I let a little bit hit Brendan. I couldn't help it!

The audience screamed at the strange powers of mine, and scampered out the doors they came from, meaning the only spectators were May, Justin, and Brendan, who was only hit on the shoulder by goop. He scraped it off.

"Heh-heh-heh! You had it coming, you jerks!" I yelled at the already gone audience with a smirk on my face. I removed my goop-covered cloak so I wouldn't get splashed, fully revealing my black long-sleeved shirt.

My opponent rose from the elevator shaft. he was an old boy, possible young man, with black eyes and brown hair, wearing a red shirt with purple pants and black shoes. On his nose were a pair of small glasses with square lenses, with arch-shaped connections. His name was Kerry.

"Didn't know Kerry was a guy's name..." I sneered. "Ha-ha-ha!"

"Hey, watch it! I may have a girl's name, but I have a boyish Pokemon!" Kerry growled. "Go, Absol!"

"Ah! An Absol?"

From a Great Ball Kerry held out in his hand appeared a burst of white-blue light, and from it appeared an Absol, a Dark Element with white fur covering most of its body, a very dark blue, almost black face with piercing and ferocious red eyes, a jagged dark blue tail, dark blue claws on its white feet with a claw on the back of each paw as well, and a dark blue, scythe-shaped appendage coming from its head.

"Ab... SOL!" roared the Absol.

"Hmm... If it's an Absol, a Dark type, then I'll use Combusken!"

I threw a Great Ball into the air, and my Combusken shot out in a blaze of white and blue energy.

"Combusken!" grunted the Fighting/Fire Element.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.

My Combusken vs. Kerry's Absol

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Combusken, start with Bulk-Up!"

Combusken took a deep breath and relaxed, and then tensed up its muscles, increasing its Attack and Defense.

"Oh, yeah?" Kerry said. "That won't scare me! Absol, use Razor Wind!"

With its blade glowing a white color and winds whipping around it, Absol unleashed a scythe-shaped white energy form that made its way towards Combusken.

"Combusken, dodge that Razor Wind!"

Combusken jumped out of Razor Wind's path, which hit the ground and created a small explosion of dirt and concrete.

"And now, use Sky Uppercut!"

Combusken's claws, which formed a fist, began to shine in a bluish hue, and with a powerful run-and-jump, Combusken bolted the Fighting attack into the lower jaw of Absol, delivering a super-effective blow to it. Absol also fainted.

"Ah! No, Absol!" cried Kerry.

"That was fast. Return to your Ball, Combusken." I recalled Combusken with the red laser beam from its Ball.

"Whoa! In one hit!" Justin cried out.

"See ya later... _Girl._ Heh-heh-heh!" I walked back to the waiting room, and Kerry recalled his Absol and growled at my insults.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**_Lieno Coliseum:_**

_**Round Two**_

My next opponent was... Neil! And the audience, albeit a different one, crowded the stadium seats, and I wore a cleaned-up cloak now.

"You ready for me to kick your butt again, Neil?" I asked evilly.

"What, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? I'm a friend, dude." replied Neil, with a slightly shocked look.

"Whatever. Just call out your Pokemon."

"Fine, then! I choose you, Jumpluff and Dugtrio!"

From two Poke Balls appeared a Jumpluff, a Grass/Flying Element with a blue circular body, two small green bumps on the top of its head, two reddish eyes, two blue arms that barely showed due to the massive cotton balls on the tips, and an identical-looking stalk on top, and a Dugtrio, a Ground Element that looked like a trio of brown lumps in a hole with dirt around the sides, each with a red nose, and different looks; angry, sad, and happy.

"Humph! I will triumph over you yet again, Neil! I choose Milotic and Croconaw!"

I threw out two different Balls, and Croconaw and my majestic Milotic appeared from them.

"Mi..." Milotic hummed.

"Croc! Croc?" Croconaw noticed he was battling, and began to cry again...

"Ooh..." I growled. "Croconaw, please battle! For me!"

I got a head-shake in response.

"Okay, then... How about Milotic?"

Croconaw looked towards his partner in battle, and his eyes became pulsing hearts for a second. Milotic looked at this and its face became rather flushed.

"Uh oh... Looks like I started a romantic spark..." I groaned.

"Heh-heh... Looks like romance is in the air!" May giggled.

Justin sweat dropped, and it became larger with Brendan's comment of:

"Ya better believe it baby..." He began to smooch at her affectionately. Luckily, no one was near them; for the stadium wasn't completely packed, not after the certain incident in the first round...

"Brendan!" May cried out, slapping his face, leaving a red mark on it.

"Get a room, you idiots..." Justin muttered under his breath.

Back to the battle...

"Guys... Er, guys and gal, can we battle without this ridiculous display of affection?"

Croconaw and Milotic looked at me and nodded, both with confident smiles on their faces.

"Good."

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Milotic and Croconaw vs. Neil's Dugtrio and Jumpluff

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Milotic, use Water Pulse on Dugtrio, and Croconaw, use Ice Beam on Jumpluff!"

With a shiny ball of water in front of its mouth, Milotic shot off the spherical Water attack towards Dugtrio, while an icy blue ball of energy appeared in Croconaw's mouth, which also shot out, as a lightning-bolt beam, towards Jumpluff. Both attacks hit before Neil could react, with Ice Beam being phenomenally effective, and Water Pulse super effective, the outcome was obvious: a double-knockout!

"...I'm shocked." Justin said. "Pat has suddenly become a lot more powerful."

"Yeah." Brendan and May agreed.

Neil and I recalled our Pokemon and departed from the scene.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

**_Semifinals_**

My next opponent was Wilma, a teenage female with yellow hair in a ponytail and brown eyes, wearing an attire of a black miniskirt, blue crop top, and blue shoes.

"Strange choice of clothing, I must say..." I muttered.

"Shut up, cutie." Wilma winked at me, earning her a growl.

"You shut up, and summon your Pokemon!"

"Fine, Mr. Bossy Pants. Go, Skitty!"

From a Great Ball appeared a Skitty, a Normal Element with a feline body; a pink fur coat above with a whitish underbelly, a thin black tail topped with a ball of pink fur with three yellow dots coming from three black stems, and crescent-shaped eyes.

"Meow!" mewed Skitty.

"Heh... I choose Combusken!"

I threw into the air a Great Ball, and from it came Combusken.

"Combusken!" Combusken yelled out.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Combusken vs. Wilma's Skitty

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Combusken, start us off with Ember!"

Combusken blew out several burning fireballs at Skitty, who jumped out of their path.

"Skitty, use Iron Tail!"

With a metallic-glowing tail, Skitty did a somersault, preparing to strike Combusken.

"...Perfect! Combusken, use Double Kick!"

With one powerful leap, Combusken jumped into the air, making Skitty plummet to the ground and have its attack miss, and with orange-red glowing feet, struck the Normal Type in the back twice, delivering two super-effective blows. Skitty fainted, and collapsed onto the ground.

"No! Skitty!" cried Wilma. She recalled her fallen Pokemon. "How dare you not ease up on a lady! Go, Luvdisc!"

From another Great Ball, a Luvdisc appeared in a burst of bluish light.

"Luv!" it wailed.

"Hmm..." I began to think about using Shadow moves...

My Combusken vs. Wilma's Luvdisc

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Luvdisc, use Water Gun!"

From Ludsic's small mouth, a blast of water shot out a Combusken.

"Dodge, and then use..." I was still indesicive.

Combusken jumped out of the water beam's path.

"Uh... Well, why not?" I muttered to myself. "Use Shadow Rush!"

My three comrades in the audience gasped at the commandment.

"What? But then... Wouldn't everyone here think he's a Cipher member?" May thought aloud.

"Probably not. I mean, we've thrashed them, and he will too, soon, so..." Brendan replied.

"I'm really not that surprised. Pat never cared about what other people thought!" Justin said.

Meanwhile, Combusken had become illuminated with Shadow energy, and rammed its body, and mainly its claws, into Luvdisc.

"Follow with Ember!"

Another storm of fireballs from Combusken's mouth hit Luvdisc. Though not very effective, it was critical at that range, taking out the Water Type.

"Good job." I congratulated Combusken.

"Combusk!" he grunted in reply.

Wilma growled as she returned her second Pokemon to its Ball.

"Okay, time for my main contender: Beautifly!"

From an Ultra Ball and a mesh of yellowish light appeared a Beautifly.

"Beau!" cried the Bug/Flying Type, in its fluctuating voice.

"Loser!" I shouted tauntingly, forming an "L" with my thumb and index finger, and placing it on my forehead briefly.

'Ack! I sound just like Lovrina!'

My Combusken vs. Wilma's Beautifly

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Combusken, use Flamethrower." I stated calmly.

With a flash of fire from its beak-shaped mouth, Combusken shot a blast of red, orange, and yellow fire towards Beautifly.

"Dodge!" reacted Wilma.

"Follow it with the beam!" I shouted.

Beautifly fluttered quickly out of the Flamethrower's path, but Combusken directed it right on Beautifly's tail, and soon tricked the Bug Pokemon; it lurched the beam directly ahead, therefore slamming the Fire attack into Beautifly, dealing out a serious blow, knocking out the Pokemon.

"What?!" May and Brendan cried out.

"Wow!" Justin stood up, agape. "How..."

Both Combusken and Beautifly were recalled, and with a few taunting remarks from me, both Wilma and I dispersed from the field.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The Waiting Room

It was nearly time for my next challenge. The person would, of course be a Cipher Peon, but trainers were allowed a break from the action. Justin and the others had come to see me.

"Pat, what did you do?!" May asked, slamming me into the wall and pinning me there.

"Huh? Wh-what are you doing?" I asked nervously.

"How are your Pokemon so strong?!" asked Brendan harshly. Clearly, the two lovers were jealous.

"Well... I kinda have a lot of money..."

'Because all of my money was converted into Pokemon Dollars when I came to the Pokemon World...' I thought.

"And well..." I continued on, "I bought a whole bunch of stat-increasers! You know; Calcium, HP Up, Zinc, stuff like that."

"Where are they?" May queried.

"Let me out of this... Awkward... Position and I'll spill the beans."

May rolled her sapphire eyes and let me away from the metal wall.

"Okay, I put them in my belt! Duh!"

The three had question marks over their heads, so I further explained.

"My belt has some packs for important stuff. You haven't seen it because of my cloak or distance between us."

They had a look saying "show us", so I unhooked my personalized belt.

"Good thing my pants don't need it to stay up..." I opened a locked compartment on the back, and brought out several glass containers, each labeled different things. I set them up on a table. There were three each of Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and, astoundingly, _four _Carbos.

"WHOA!" gasped May, Brendan, and even Justin at the sight. Each Item cost 9800 Pokemon Dollars, therefore I paid a total of 156,800!

"How did you get the money for all this?! I know you have 'secret funds', but jeez!" burst out Justin.

"Well, actually, Michael sent me the ones I used, plus some of the Carbos, Calcium, and Protein. I bought the others for a 98000! Actually, I got a discount by helping the merchandise seller out with some stuff, so I only paid 94000."

Everyone blinked, as it all ran through their minds. "Okay, then. But still, that's a lot of money!" Brendan said.

"Well, actually... Now I barely have any left."

The three's eyes became Anime-style eyes: white circles with black outlines, and they regained their senses, and took whatever stat-boosters they needed.

0o0o0o0o0o0

An Hour Later

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Finals**_

"Well, where is he or she?" I mumbled impatiently. My opponent had yet to show up. It had been five minutes already!

A few moments later, she showed her face; she was a Cipher Peon with red hair and hazel-colored eyes, named Keller.

"Prepare to be killed by... _The Keller!_" she yelled.

"Oh really, Keller? Well, I'm afraid I won't be the one! YOU WILL BE DESTROYED BY THE PATINATOR!"

Keller grabbed two Great Balls at her waist and threw them up into the air, crying out:

"Golbat and Grovyle, show yourselves!"

From the Great Balls materialized a Golbat and Grovyle.

"Gro!" Grovyle growled.

"Golbat!" cried out Golbat.

"Heh-heh... My turn. Meet your doom, Keller, for I call out... Milotic and Aerodactyl!"

From two Balls I tossed out came two flashes of bright light, and from them appeared Aerodactyl and Milotic.

"ROOOO!" shrieked Aerodactyl.

"Mi..." hummed Milotic.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

My Milotic and Aerodactyl vs. CP Keller's Golbat and Grovyle

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Aerodactyl, use Rock Slide!"

With a quick flap of its wings, Aerodactyl formed very big, black rocks and flung them at Grovyle and Golbat. While normally effective on Grovyle, it was super effective towards Golbat.

"Milotic, use Ice Beam!"

Forming an icy blue sphere of energy in front of her mouth, Milotic shot towards Grovyle a thunderbolt-shaped beam.

"Grovyle, dodge with Quick Attack, and then use Leaf Blade!"

The Grass Element jumped out of Ice Beam's path with white light trailing it, which caused that part of the floor to become icy. While still airborne, the scythe-shaped leaves on Grovyle's left arm began to glow green, and they formed together to make one large scythe. With a midair dash, Grovyle slashed Milotic with the sharp, glowing blade, delivering a super-effective blow to the Water Type's HP.

"No! Milotic!" I cried out. "Grr... Retaliate with Shadow Storm!"

Milotic's eyes glowed an eerie dark color, and a second later, a small, dark purple/black, electrical, crackling tornado appeared. It swept Grovyle in, spinning it around harshly, and then increased its pain by slamming Grovyle into Golbat. Both took super-effective hits.

"And now! Aerodactyl, attack Grovyle with Dragon Claw! Milotic, attack Golbat with Water Gun! Now!"

Aerodactyl's gray claws began to shine in a reddish hue, and the Rock/Flying Type flew towards its Grass target. Meanwhile, Milotic opened her mouth and shot from it a blast of blue water at Golbat. Both attacks hit, knocking out Keller's two Pokemon.

"Grr..." she growled. "Return!" Keller recalled her two fainted and flopped-over Pokemon to their Balls.

"Well, down to this baby... I choose you, Kadabra!"

My opponent tossed up a Great Ball, and from its large burst of white-blue light materialized a Kadabra, a Psychic Element with a fox-designed body, with a dark brown top, red marks on its lower, gold abdomen, three white claws on each finger, a golden mustache, pointy ears, two claws on its golden feet, and a bushy golden-colored tail with one dark brown stripe. In one hand was a silver spoon.

"Ka-dab-ra!" roared the Pokemon in its deep voice.

While slower than usual, which I didn't notice, my Shadow Detector visor rose up from my shoulder, and said in a slower, deeper voice:

"Kadabra. Level 30. Psychic Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Storm, Shadow Blitz, and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Heh-heh-heh! A Shadow Pokemon!" I smirked, but then grew more serious in my look.

'Hmm... Well, it's a good thing it has Shadow Down. It won't do much with its low Attack strength, even with Shadow Storm or Blitz!' I thought, knowing of Kadabra's low Attack.

My Aerodactyl and Milotic vs. CP Keller's Kadabra

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Alright, Kadabra. Use Calm Mind!"

Kadabra closed its eyes and got into a midair meditation position, enhancing its Special Attack and Special Defense.

"A lot of good that will do you! Aerodactyl, use Bite!"

With its sharp teeth glowing a dark shade of purple and its large jaws open, Aerodactyl flew towards the still-meditating Kadabra, preparing to bite it.

"Kadabra, now! Psychic!"

The Psychic Element opened its eyes, and they began to glow a blue color. The same shade of blue illuminated Aerodactyl. Flailing its arms about, Kadabra made Aerodactyl fly about the field, slamming into the ground or walls several times. When the attack stopped, the Fossil Pokemon... had fainted.

"Argh! You'll pay for that, Keller!" I growled, and recalled the fallen and knocked-out Aerodactyl.

"Okay, then... It's time! I choose Gastly!"

I threw into the air a Poke Ball, and from it came Gastly.

"Gastly!" The Ghost/Poison-Type followed his cry with a rather maniacal laugh.

"...He's teaching his Pokemon to be like him." Brendan sweat-dropped.

"Hmm... If I'm not mistaken, what Gastly said was probably 'I will take over the world!'" May said.

"...Yep. Just like Pat." mumbled Justin.

My Gastly and Milotic vs. CP Keller's Kadabra

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gastly, quick! Use Sludge Bomb! And Milotic, use Water Gun!"

Forming a purple poison ball in its mouth, Gastly spat out from it several hurling blobs of poison at Kadabra, which slammed into the fox-like Pokemon. Milotic also had its mouth open, shooting a beam of water at the Psychic Type as well.

"Quick, Kadabra! Use Psychic to redirect the water!" Keller shouted.

Kadabra's eyes turned blue again, and the watery beam of liquid, which had almost reached him, was sent back at Milotic with tremendous force.

"Heh-heh... Mirror Coat Milotic!" I yelled.

Lowering her head slightly, Milotic formed a violet-pink shield in front of her, deflecting Water Gun back at Kadabra, with double the power!

'Ah! Aw, crud! If that hits, Kadabra might be a goner!' I thought.

"Kadabra, use Psychic again!" said Keller.

Again, the spoon-wielding Pokemon's eyes became completely blue, and so did the Water Gun attack. It twisted back, and was sent towards Milotic once more, Mirror Coat power and all.

"Milotic, take the hit." I said.

"Mi?!" Milotic cried out. She did as she was told, though, and stayed in the line of... Water. Water Gun hit the Water Element, causing serious but still not very effective damage.

"Okay... Milotic use Dive and come up all around Kadabra! Distract him!"

Milotic dove into a newly formed pool of water, and waited to strike for a few seconds. Then, a circle of water appeared around Kadabra, and Milotic jumped out on all sides.

"Kadabra, Psybeam!"

From its silver spoon, Kadabra shot a beam of rainbow colored energy at Milotic, but she was too quick to be hit, always diving into the water at the last second.

"And now that he's distracted, Gastly... Use Lick!"

Gastly disappeared, and then reappeared in Kadabra's face, with its dark tongue glowing a black color, and slapped Kadabra's face with it harshly, lowering its HP to the lowest portion of yellow with a super effective attack.

"Come back to me, guys!" I said. Milotic emerged from the pool of water in front of me, and Aerodactyl flew back to his previous location.

"Well, then..." I charged up an Ultra Ball in my Snag Machine hand. It took a few seconds longer than usual, but it soon became illuminated with red light. I threw the spherical object towards Kadabra and hit the Pokemon. The Ultra Ball opened up, letting out a burst of red light, which sucked Kadabra inside, and fell to the ground. After a lot of twitching, Kadabra... Had been Snagged.

"Got it!" I cheered. "Return, Milotic and Aerodactyl!" Holding out their respective Poke Balls, Milotic and Aerodactyl retreated back to them in flashes of red.

Keller ran away from the field angrily, and I picked up Kadabra's new Poke Ball.

"BINGO! I finished my first Coliseum challenge!"

The crowd cheered because I had done so well.

"Those Pokemon of Keller's must have been strong. Either that, or she used a whole bunch of Stat Enhancers herself." Justin said.

"I'd say choice B." Brendan replied.

"Wow, Brendan. You probably got your first test right." mumbled the blonde sarcastically, and with a sweat drop.

"Knock it off, you two!" May scolded.

"Yes, May." both boys said, hanging their heads.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Pokemon Center

I had claimed Kadabra, giving me yet another addition to my team.

"Well, gang... The next challenge is all Justin's!" I said. "So, good luck to you, J!"

"Thanks, Pat..." sighed Justin.

"Uh... What is it, J?"

"Well, it's just that... I know you trained me and all, but still... If I have to fight a Cipher Admin, then I might just be toast."

"Uh, there's no toaster in the Pokemon Center." I blinked, and the others fell down Anime-style.

"He means that he might not win!" May explained, sweat-dropping. "But anyway... I wouldn't count yourself out yet Justin. You'll do fine!"

Justin's facial expression became a look of pure dumbness, with a blush on his cheeks. "Thanks, May..." He also laughed in an oafish manner, like I had done two days earlier.

Brendan, however, smacked the blond-haired trainer in the head, making him come to his senses.

"Yeah! I'll do fine! I just gotta not worry about the fact they don't offer bathroom breaks during battles!"

"AGH! Now _that's _the Justin I know! Ugh..." I groaned.

"Grr...! Oh, _sure!_"

PM: Sorry about how the battles were so short, but I was in a bit of a rush. ...Oh, how I love me! R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

A _Colossal _Event, Pt 4: Justin's Jousts!

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Round One**_

It was time for Justin, now adorning his left arm with my Snag Machine, to step up to the plate... And so he did. Only, replace the plate with a trainer's box.

His opponent was a girl, perhaps in her late teens, with dyed purple hair going down in two strips over her shoulders and down to her chest, and black eyes, wearing a black tank top, pants, and flip-flops.

"It's gonna get hot!" she, who was named Gigi, said. "Go, Cacturne!"

From a Great Ball Gigi threw came a burst of light, and then a Cacturne, a Grass/Dark Element with a human-shaped body composed of long, green, fingerless arms with dark green spikes along the sides, legs of the same design, a pyramid-shaped dark green "hat" upon its head, and menacing black eyes with yellow irises, and black pupils.

"A Cacturne? I got the perfect match! Go, Firecerberus!"

"What does that mean...?" asked May.

I pulled out a dictionary, and read from it: "Let's see... Fire, you guys know what that is. Cerberus... It's a mythical dog! Pretty fitting name."

From an Ultra Ball appeared Firecerberus, which was a Growlithe.

"Growlithe!" grunted the canine Fire Element.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.

Justin's Growlithe, Firecerberus vs. Gigi's Cacturne

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Cacturne, use Sunny Day!" shouted Gigi.

Cacturne crossed its arms, and the sunlight got many times stronger and brighter.

"And now use Solarbeam!"

Opening its dark mouth, a green-white ball of energy formed in Cacturne's mouth. In a split second, due to the intense sunlight, the ball grew into a large beam of white and green, which blasted into Firecerberus.

"Ah! Hmm... That sun is gonna be her weakness." Justin said with a smirk. "Firecerberus, use Flamethrower!"

A spark of red and orange fire appeared in Firecerberus' mouth, and soon it became a beam of red, orange, and yellow fire. The attack was super effective when it beamed into Cacturne's face, delivering the knockout blow.

"Yeah! There goes one!" Justin cheered.

"Well, that was rather quick..." I said.

"Well, the Sunny Day boosted Flamethrower's power, you know!" Brendan stated.

"I know that, Bleach-Hair!"

"Grr!"

The two trainers down on the field recalled their Pokemon, and went back to the place they needed to be.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Round Two**_

The next trainer Justin faced off against was Neil, of course.

"Well, I guess we'd better get it on!" said the neatly-combed-haired trainer.

"You got it! I choose you, Snorunt and Darkshark!" shouted Justin, tossing out a Poke Ball and Great Ball. From them appeared Snorunt and Darkshark, which was a Sharpedo.

"Sno!" grunted Snorunt.

"Sharpedo!" growled Sharpedo.

"Well, then... I choose these two: Forretress and Mawile!"

From two Poke Balls Neil held in his hands materialized a Forretress, a Bug/Steel Type with a metallic outer shell, a red inner body with two black and white eyes, and from four holes in the armor-like shell, red thorn-shaped objects protruding out, and a Mawile, a Steel Type with a light cream colored, almost humanoid body with what appeared to be black sleeves that went from Mawile's claws to its elbows, black feet, black hair on the top of its head, and two huge black jaws with a cream colored spot on the top jaw, with very sharp teeth.

"Maw!"

"Forretress...!"

Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two battle with no substitutions or time limit.

Justin's Snorunt and Sharpedo, Darkshark vs. Neil's Forretress and Mawile

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Darkshark, use Shadow Down now!"

In Darkshark's mouth appeared a shiny black sphere of energy, which became a wave of energy that hit Forretress and Mawile, lowering their Defense.

"Mawile, use Attract towards Darkshark!"

Mawile looked into Darkshark's eyes and fluttered her eyelashes, which in turn made Darkshark blush, attracted towards the Steel Element.

"Aw, great! Snorunt, use Ice Beam!"

In front of Snorunt's mouth appeared a frosty blue sphere, which grew slightly, and then shot out as a thunderbolt-shaped blast, hitting Forretress. It wasn't very effective, though,

"Darkshark, use Shadow Rush!"

Darkshark began to charge up and become illuminated with purple energy, but stopped when he saw Mawile flutter her eyelashes again.

"Darn..." Justin growled.

"Mawile, use Crunch!"

Mawile ran towards Snorunt and turned around, then chomped down on the poor Ice Type with her large jaws, which were glowing a dark color.

"Perfect... Snorunt, use Ice Beam!"

Another ball of blue energy formed in front of Snorunt's mouth, who was trapped between Mawile's jaws. However, the thunderbolt-shaped beam forced Snorunt out of the toothy grasps. It also froze in-between the jaws, making it impossible for Mawile to use Crunch or Bite.

"And now, _you _use Crunch!"

Snorunt opened its mouth, jumped up, and then clamped its teeth on Mawile's head. A green energy wave spiraled down her, meaning her Special Defense dropped.

"Okay, then... Darkshark, snap out of your Attraction and use Shadow Rush on Forretress!"

Darkshark became illuminated fully this time, and because Mawile was busy being hurt by Crunch, the Water/Dark dual Type was able to ram into Forretress' hard body, delivering a super-effective blow, amazingly knocking out Forretress.

"No, Forretress!" Neil cried. "Return!" He recalled his Pokemon to its Ball.

"There goes one..." Justin sighed.

Justin's Snorunt and Sharpedo, Darkshark vs. Neil's Mawile

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Snorunt, stop Crunch and use Double-Edge!"

Snorunt let go of Mawile's head and dropped down behind it, and then rammed into the Steel Element with tremendous force and power, with red streams of energy flowing behind it. While the attack did a lot of damage to Snorunt as well, it was able to nearly take out Mawile, who had fallen onto her side from the impact.

"Finish with Icy Wind!"

Snorunt blew out a bitterly cold wind with snow and ice particles onto Mawile, who was blown into the Coliseum wall by the wind velocity, knocking it out finally.

"YEAH!" cheered Justin.

"Oh, well. Win some, lose some. Return Mawile." Neil said, as he whipped out his Mawile's Poke Ball and returned it with a flash of red light. Justin did the same with Darkshark and Snorunt.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Semifinals**_

Justin's next-to-last opponent would be... A Cipher Grunt!

"What the...?" mumbled the blonde.

"Ah-ha! So, My next opponent is you!" laughed the Grunt, whose name was Carl.

"Yes, I am. Prepare to lose!" Justin tossed out a Timer Ball, calling out:

"Hyperhydro, go!"

From the Balls appeared Marshtomp, Hyperhydro.

"Marsh!" cried out Hyperhydro.

"Eat Bug power! Go, Heracross!"

Carl threw a Poke Ball out, and from it appeared a Heracross, a Bug/Fighting Type with a dark green beetle-shaped body, with arms that started thin at the shoulder, but grew large at the wrist, with sharp thorn-shaped protrusions on the bottom, and two white claws, one-clawed feet, yellow and black eyes, two antennae with balls at the tip, and a very large horn on the top of its head.

"Hera!"

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no time limit or substitutions.

Justin's Marshtomp, Hyperhydro vs. CG Carl's Heracross

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Heracross, use Swords Dance!"

Heracross crossed its arms, and then performed a series of slow tai-chi moves, while swords appeared around it, slashing one another. Heracross' Attack stat was boosted sharply.

"Hyperhydro, use Water Gun!"

Hyperhydro shot, from its mouth, a beam of water at Heracross.

"Heracross, dodge and use Horn Attack!"

Heracross' transparent wings propelled the Bug/Fighting Type out of Water Gun's path, and then it flew down, with its horn glowing a faint white, at Hyperhydro.

"Now, Hyperhydro! Use Shadow Rush!"

With a dark purple aura, Hyperhydro rammed its body into Heracross, which was super effective. The Shadow attack knocked Heracross out of the skies and onto its back.

"Finish it off with Mud Shot!"

Hyperhydro opened its mouth further, and from it shot an elliptical mud ball, at a high speed, that exploded when it hit Heracross, who fainted.

"Aw, man! Grr... Return, Heracross!" grumbled Carl, recalling his Pokemon.

"Okay. Meet Beedrill!"

From a Net Ball and a whitish-green flash of light materialized a Beedrill, a Bug/Poison Pokemon with a bee or wasp-like body with black stripes on the lower portion of its body, large red eyes, two gray legs, two gray arms with white drill-shaped horns on the ends, two gray antennae, a sharp stinger, and four transparent wings with black designs.

"Drill!" grunted the wasp-like Pokemon.

"MOMMY!" I cried, seeing Beedrill.

"You're scared of a Beedrill?" Brendan sweat-dropped.

"I've had three bad experiences with bees and wasps! And all three involved stingers!"

Justin's Marshtomp, Hyperhydro vs. CG Carl's Beedrill

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Hyperhydro, use Muddy Water!"

Behind Hyperhydro appeared a large collection of brown mud-water, which became a wave hurtling towards Beedrill, carrying Hyperhydro on top. The brown water crashed down on Beedrill, knocking the Bug/Poison Type onto the ground.

"Beedrill! Use Pink Missile!" called out Carl.

Beedrill's hands/drills began to spin around swiftly, as well as glow white. From them shot several rounds of white thorn-shaped objects, each pounding into Hyperhydro.

"Blast through that with Water Gun!" Justin shouted.

Ignoring the slight pain of the still coming Pin Missiles, Hyperhydro blasted from its mouth a beam of blue liquid, that knocked away the sharp missiles and into Beedrill, blasting the frightening (At least to me, anyway) Pokemon into the nearest wall, knocking it out.

"No, Beedrill!" cried Carl. The Cipher Grunt uttered a growl, and then recalled his Pokemon.

"Okay... Time for this baby! Go, Shedinja!"

From another Poke Ball Carl held out materialized Shedinja, a Bug/Ghost Element with a golden/mustard yellow cicada-shaped body, floating above the ground, with small claws, a brownish belly, two large, spherical, golden eyes with black lines going around them, with a circle on the lines as the pupils, jagged yellow "wings" coming out from the back, two horns above the eyes, and finally a white crescent shape hovering above its head.

"Shed-inja!" grunted the Pokemon.

Justin's Marshtomp, Hyperhydro vs. CG Carl's Shedinja

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Hyperhydro..." Justin said. "Use Mud Shot!"

Hyperhydro spat a swirling ball of brown mud out at Shedinja, which hit the Ghost/Bug Pokemon... But simply exploded upon impact, not even scratching Shedinja.

"What the...?! Oh wait..." muttered Justin, in annoyance. "Shedinja's Wonder Guard... I gotta use a super-effective move, and nothing else... Like Fire, Ghost, or Dark."

"Shedinja, use Shadow Ball!" shouted Carl.

Between Shedinja's two claws formed a crackling sphere of black-colored energy, which grew slightly, and continued to grow for a few seconds. Once it was done charging, Shedinja let loose the ball, which zoomed through the air towards Hyperhydro.

"Destroy that Shadow Ball with Water Pulse!"

Hyperhydro prepared a shiny ball of water in its mouth, and shot it forth at the Shadow Ball, destroying both attacks in a small explosion of water and energy.

"And now, Hyperhydro! Use Shadow Rush!"

With purple energy all around it, the Water/Ground Elemental rammed its body into Shedinja's, knocking it out with one super effective attack.

"There's one move type we all have..." I smirked. "And that's Shadow."

Marshtomp and Shedinja were recalled to their Poke Balls, and Justin returned to his waiting room. Carl ran out of the Coliseum.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Lieno Coliseum:**_

_**Finals**_

Justin had made it to the final match! He knew his opponent would be strong, but when he saw his opponent... Justin knew, or at least thought, he had gotten an automatic victory...

Before him, yards away, stood Cipher Admin Snattle, a man of maybe late thirties or early forties, wearing a white one-piece suit with purple designs on the hips and down the legs, as well as two large purple collars, silver high-heeled shoes, and over that, a large cloak-bottomed robe with a purple outside and white inside, having darker purple lines on the arms of the robe, and white collars. On the Administrator's neck was a strange, thick object which wrapped around his neck, with a very large pearl-shaped shiny object in the center. Snattle also wore on his face a pair of small glasses with seemingly gray, opaque lenses, and also has purplish lips. His only other feature was his weird hair, which was flopped back behind his head kind of like a ponytail, and would be a tall column if it were upright, with a gray half on the left, which was mostly on the top part, and a purple part of the right, which was mostly on the bottom-side of the horizontal hair.

"Well, here's my Coliseum debut!" laughed Snattle.

"You really shouldn't have shown up. I'd expect you to die of embarrassment, with your WEIRD HAIR!" Justin said.

A red anger cross appeared on Snattle's head briefly.

"No one insults my hair! Prepare to eat my fury! Go, Wailmer and Gyarados!"

Snattle threw out two Great Balls, and from them appeared a Wailmer, a Water Type with a ball shaped body having a blue topside, and a cream colored underside, with some vague lines, as well as wing-like appendages on the top portion of its body, as well as a big mouth, and a Gyarados, a Water/Flying Element with a large, sea serpent-shaped body, with a blue top and a light tan colored underside, four white fins on its back, light tan colored spots on its sides, two blue "whiskers" dangling from its yellow and large mouth, and white fins on the sides of its head.

"Wail!" cried out Wailmer.

Gyarados let out a roar.

"Hmm... Let's win this, Sharpleaf and Terramarine!"

Justin held out two Ultra Balls, and from them appeared Sharpleaf, Justin's Grovyle, and Terramarine, Relicanth.

"Gro!" growled Sharpleaf.

"Relicanth..." moaned out Terramarine.

Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no substitutions or time limit.

Justin's Relicanth, Terramarine, and Grovyle, Sharpleaf vs. Cipher Admin Snattle's Wailmer and Gyarados

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Gyarados, begin with Dragon Dance!" shouted Snattle. His neckpiece began to glow different colors as the fight began.

Gyarados began waving its body up and down as six blue circles formed a circular pattern in the air, which also wavered about. The "dancing" and stuff stopped after a few moments, increasing Gyarados' Speed and Attack.

"Sharpleaf, use Leaf Blade on Wailmer! Terramarine, use Rock Slide!"

The leaves on Sharpleaf's left arm began to glow a green color, and soon they formed a long, glowing blade of energy. Sharpleaf jumped towards Wailmer, preparing to slash at it with the scythe. Terramarine let out a roar, causing large rocks to form up and fly at Wailmer and Gyarados. Sharpleaf struck Wailmer, delivering a powerful super-effective blow to the Water Type, and Rock Slide did a bit of damage to Wailmer, and a lot to Gyarados, being super effective.

"Wailmer! Use Ice Beam now!" yelled Snattle.

In Wailmer's large mouth formed an icy blue ball, which soon shot out at Sharpleaf as a thunderbolt-shaped blast. However, the Grass Element jumped out of the Ice attack's path in the nick of time.

"Terramarine, use Double-Edge on Gyarados!"

Terramarine lurched forward and zoomed towards Gyarados with some orange energy flowing behind it, and rammed into the large Water/Flying Element, delivering another powerful hit to the serpentine Pokemon. No recoil damage was taken back, due to Terramarine's Rock Head ability.

"Almost through with that one..." sighed Justin.

"Eat this, Blonde!" jeered Snattle. "Wailmer, use Body Slam!"

Wailmer jumped up from the floor slightly, and then bounced higher, and rolled in the air towards Sharpleaf.

"Sharpleaf, quick! Dodge Body Slam with Quick Attack!"

Sharpleaf jumped out of Wailmer's path swiftly and with white energy behind it, which caused Wailmer to crash into the ground. And then, Sharpleaf rammed into the large Water Element, knocking it back a little.

"Okay, time to finish!" Justin smirked. "Sharpleaf, use Shadow Wave! Terramarine, use Shadow Blitz, and on Gyarados!"

Sharpleaf's mouth opened, revealing a small, glowing, dark energy ball, as Terramarine began to glow with the same colored energy. Sharpleaf let loose two wavy beams of a black and purple color, which hit Wailmer and Gyarados, both hits super effective. Terramarine, now fully charged with Shadow power, rammed into Gyarados, delivering another super effective hit. Both Pokemon of Snattle's fainted.

"Argh! Return!" cried the strangely-haired Admin as he recalled his KO'd Pokemon.

"Hmph... Well, here's my final Pokemon... Let's go Banette!"

Snattle held out a Poke Ball, and from it came forth a burst of white light. Materializing from that light was a Banette, a Ghost Pokemon with a marionette-like, dark gray body, with a dark yellow opened-zipper mouth, three claws, a golden-colored tail ending with a five-pointed, large tip, red eyes with black pupils, three dark gray points on its head, forming a kind of crown, and a stream of what seemed to be a dark gray "tail", only coming from the back of Banette's head, and ending in a zigzag way.

"Ba-a-a-a-anette!" growled the Ghost Type spookily.

Slowly, the Shadow Detector rose out of its socket on the Snag Machine's shoulder piece, and the green visor slid in front of Justin's eyes.

"Bingo! A Shadow Pokemon!" said the blonde.

"Banette..." read the computer voice, incredibly slow and low-pitched now. "Level 35... Ghost Element... Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz, Shadow Shed, and Shadow Down... SHADOW POKE..." Its voice never finished.

"Oh, crud! If this thing doesn't have any power left, I can't Snag Banette!"

Justin's Grovyle, Sharpleaf, and Relicanth, Terramarine vs. CA Snattle's Banette

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Banette! Use Shadow Down!"

Banette unleashed a small wave of dark purple and black energy which hit Sharpleaf and Terramarine, decreasing their Defense stat a lot.

"Follow up with Shadow Blitz!"

The Ghost Pokemon began to charge towards Sharpleaf, with Shadow energy forming behind it. Banette slammed its gray body into Sharpleaf, delivering a very powerful, yet not very effective hit, placing Sharpleaf's HP... In the low yellows.

"Sharpleaf, use Dragonbreath!"

Sharpleaf spewed from its mouth a stream of green and yellow flames, which knocked Banette onto its back, as well as making electricity crackle from its Ghostly body, meaning Banette was paralyzed.

"Yes! Terramarine, use Shadow Blitz!"

With purple light trailing its brown body, Relicanth dashed towards Banette, and slammed its body into the Ghost Type's, lowering its HP even more.

"Banette!" Snattle growled. "Use Shadow Ball!"

Banette stood back up on its feet, and formed in its hands a black ball of ghost energy, which soon grew and shot out at Terramarine.

"Dodge it!" Justin shouted. Terramarine swiftly got out of Shadow Ball's path.

"Heh-heh..." Snattle saw that Justin's two Pokemon were almost perfectly aligned.

"Now, Banette! Another Shadow Ball!"

Banette shot off another dark energy sphere, which this time successfully smashed into Terramarine, causing him to slam into Sharpleaf, causing damage to both Pokemon, and knocking out Sharpleaf!

"No!" cried out Justin. He let out a low growl, and returned his fainted Grass Element to its Ball.

"Time for you to make an appearance, Barboach!"

From a Poke Ball Justin thrust out from his Poke Belt appeared his Barboach.

"Bo..." moaned the Ground/Water dual Type.

Justin's Barboach and Relicanth, Terramarine vs. CA Snattle's Banette

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Barboach, use Water Gun!"

Barboach opened its small mouth, and let loose a beam of aquatic fury unto Banette, lowering the Ghost's HP more and more...

"Use Faint Attack, Banette!"

Banette, shaking off Water Gun, disappeared in a swirl of purple, and stayed invisible for a few minutes. But then, it reappeared quickly, and collided into Barboach.

"Follow with Shadow Blitz!"

Banette also did another Shadowy tackle, crashing its body into Barboach's again, this time knocking it out.

"Oh no!" cried Justin in shock. He was down to Terramarine, once he recalled Barboach...

Justin's Relicanth, Terramarine vs. CA Snattle's Banette

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Terramarine, go! Use Harden!"

Terramarine shone in a shiny metallic color briefly, enhancing its Defense.

"Ha! You think that will help you? I beg to differ!" sneered Snattle.

"Grr... Now, Terramarine... Use... Your... ICY WIND!" yelled Justin angrily.

Terramarine opened its brown mouth and shot forth from it a powerful, frosty blue gale with ice particles inside at Banette, which slammed into the Ghost Element, and also slowed it down. Both Pokemon began to pant with fatigue.

"Banette... End this _now! _Use Thunderbolt!"

"NO!" Justin cried out again.

Banette began to glow a yellow color, and soon became surrounded by crackling electricity. A somewhat large bolt shot out from the collection of lightning, headed straight for Terramarine.

"Dodge it!"

The Rock/Water Elemental Pokemon managed to move out of the bolt's path, and the Thunderbolt attack headed straight for Justin!

"AAH!" screamed the blonde as the blast of lightning reached him. He held out his arms to protect him, and somehow... It worked?

...The metal Snag Machine was keeping the Electric attack hitting it, like a lightning rod!

"Oh, Pat's gonna kill me..." groaned Justin. However, he was wrong...

The electricity actually **_charged up the Snag Machine! _**But clearly, only a little amount of time was left, and only one usage was left as well.

"I gotta make this count..." Justin began to charge up a Timer Ball, which had gotten seriously powerful due to the amount of time the battle took. Once its red glow reached the max, Justin threw it at Banette, who was hit by the sphere and sucked inside with red light. The Timer Ball dropped to the ground, and, as Justin walked closer to it, it twitched and rolled around a bit. And then... It stopped. Justin had Snagged a Pokemon. Not only that, but he had _beaten a Cipher Admin!_

"YEAH! WHOO-HOO! NICE!" roared Justin in victory. He picked up the Timer Ball, recalled his Pokemon, and left the field.

"I lost...?! To ANOTHER KID?!" screamed Snattle in anger.

Before anyone could get the authorities, a black helicopter with a dark gray door and a black **C **flew over the Coliseum battlefield, hovered, and dropped down a rope ladder. Snattle clambered up into the vehicle, even though he almost lost his balance with those dumb-looking shoes, and the chopper flew off...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Well, gang..." I sighed. "We're done here."

"Yeah. It's been great, but I miss the adventurousness of our previous Cipher-busting." Brendan replied. He, May, and I were seated at a table in the Pokemon Center. Justin was at the nearest table, since each one had a three-person limit.

"Tomorrow..." Justin said, drawing attention to him. "We're gonna get a new battery for the Snag Machine." He had claimed Banette and named it a somewhat appropriate but obvious nickname: Banshee.

We all departed for our rooms for the night, and prepared for the next day of Cipher busting...

PM: Well, the Lieno Coliseum saga is now... Complete. (Fingers Sizzle From the Extreme Speed of His Typing) Ow... Pain. Anyway, Review people!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Ignorance is Blissey

The next day, we all returned to the HQ Lab to see if Michael could give my Snag Machine a little charge, and preferably a long-lasting one.

It had taken only about half an hour to get there from Gateon Port, and we met Michael in front of the building.

"Nice to see you again, Pat." he said. The red-haired Snagger saw Justin and asked me:

"Is this the Justin you e-mailed me about?"

"Yes it is, Michael. Do you have... _It_ ready?" I replied.

"Sure do, laddie. Just give me a second..."

Michael walked back into the Pokemon HQ Lab, leaving us four alone for the time being.

"M-M-M-M..." stuttered Justin, clearly amazed at meeting the holder of Shadow Lugia.

"Would you stop, Justin?" I asked, sweat dropping.

"Sorry, Pat, but I'm a little bit shocked to actually meet Michael... Of course, that's obvious because he has Shadow Lugia and the Birds."

"How the heck do you two know all this stuff about him?" Brendan asked.

"Uh... Uh... Internet?" Justin replied nervously.

"Eh, works for me."

Michael had returned; now holding a black Snag Machine with a glove in the very end and red marks spiraling down the arm part.

"Here it is, Pat. Hope you and Justin like it!"

I grabbed the new Snag Machine and handed it to Justin. "This... Is yours."

I began smirking as Justin's expression turned to a shocked one. "For me? AWESOME! I GOT A SNAG MACHINE!" cheered the blond after sliding the Snag Machine on.

"Oh, yes. Let me take yours for a few hours Pat to recharge it." Michael took my Snag Machine into the HQ Lab.

But a rather unexpected thing happened next...

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" yelled a voice. We four turned to see a male Cipher Peon.

"Oh, great..." I muttered.

"My orders are to eliminate you four, and that I shall!" smirked the Peon. "I, Cipher Peon Gonzo, shall DESTROY YOU!"

'Gonzo? More like Gung-Ho.' I thought.

"You take him on first, Justin."

Justin stepped forward, pulling out a Poke Ball from his belt. "Let's do this! Let's go, Sharpleaf!"

From the Ball appeared Sharpleaf.

"Gro-vyle!" grunted the Grass Element.

"Hmm! I choose you, Blissey!"

From Gonzo's great Ball appeared a Blissey, a pink, round Pokemon with short arms, a pouch on its stomach containing an egg, a white, wavy, skirt-like ring around its belly, and white wings on its elbows.

"Bliss!" smirked the Normal Element.

From Justin's shoulder popped up a red visor, his Shadow Detector!

"Blissey. Level 34. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Down and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON!" spoke the robotic voice.

"Alright." Justin said as his visor disappeared. "My first catch with this thing. Ready, Sharpleaf?"

Sharpleaf nodded in response.

Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.

Justin's Grovyle, Sharpleaf vs. CP Gonzo's Blissey

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Sharpleaf, begin with Growth!"

Sharpleaf glowed a green color, also become larger in size briefly, heightening its Special Attack.

"Blissey, Defense Curl!"

Blissey curled into a ball, raising its Defense.

"Now use Reflect!"

Blissey formed a see-through shield all around its pink body, which increased its Defense a bit more.

"Hmm. Defensive, eh?" Justin smirked. "Sharpleaf, use Leaf Blade!"

Sharpleaf's leaf-like appendage on its left arm began glowing, also stretching out to a long length. The Grass Pokemon jumped towards Blissey and slashed it with his scythe-shaped blade, knocking Blissey back a little bit.

"Blissey, Flamethrower!"

From its mouth, Blissey sent a blazing fire beam at Sharpleaf, hitting the nicknamed Grovyle in the chest for a super effective hit.

"Wow... Flamethrower... Sharpleaf, use Leaf Blade again!"

Sharpleaf's leaf on his arm began to glow and lengthen again. With a swift jump, Sharpleaf slashed Blissey with its blade, this attack being critical.

"Okay… Let's go, Snag Ball!" Justin yelled. He threw an Ultra Ball from his Snag Machine, which was now glowing red. It sucked up Blissey upon contact, shook violently, and then stopped with a ping.

"…I did it… I Snagged Blissey! Yeah!" Justin cheered.

"Awesome! Way to go, Justin!" May cheered.

"Nice job!" Brendan congratulated.

"…Yes. It was a good Snag, especially for your second one." I said with a small smile.

The Peon ran off, frustrated, and Justin grabbed the Ultra Ball.

"I think this would be best for you, May."

He walked over to May and handed her Blissey's Poke Ball.

"Aw, thanks! I did want Blissey for myself."

Michael came back.

"So what happened out here?"

"Well, Michael, a Cipher Peon came here. Justin obliterated him, and Snagged a Shadow Blissey."

Michael nodded. "First day on the job, and the lad's already Snagged one. Good job!"

Michael, the other three, and I walked into the HQ Lab to wait for my own Snag Machine to recharge.

PM: This will be the last chapter for a while. And unfortunately, yes, it's name is very stupid. I have lost interest in this story, as well as Pokemon Platinum Version. So, don't bother hoping a new e-mail is an alert about this story. Sorry.


	15. Chapter 15

PM: I'M BACK, BY POPULAR DEMAND! Well, this story at least. School is in session, so that's one reason for my updating cessation. Of course, I did stop during summer… Don't hurt me! I BRUISE EASILY!

Alright, with the fact I'm reviving this story, I will be revising several things, listed below.

One: Like my other, more current stories, this will now be in third-person form instead of first. Switching between first and third person can get kinda annoying. Once you use "I" instead of he or she, you do the reverse…

Two: The chapters will be shorter. The amount of stuff in a single "arc" of the fic won't shorten, though; it will just be split up.

Three: Instead of what are sometimes called single quotes, thoughts will be in italics.

And finally, four: The chapter name and number were normally centered and normal. Now it will be bolded and italicized, as well as going from left-to-right, like my Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fic. The same with the battle info and such.

Alright, enough gabbing.

_**Chapter Fifteen: The Cipher Key Lair, Pt. 1!**_

It wasn't long before Team Pat got word of more Cipher activity; in fact, it was the next day. They had returned to Gateon Port for the time being, and Pat had gotten an email from Michael.

_**Pat,**_

_**Something has been up in the Orre desert. The Cipher Key Lair was out there a couple of years ago as a Shadow Pokemon Factory. Some activity has been spotted. I'd go with you, but I have to take care of Jovi again…**_

_**Also, the parts shop in Gateon will give you the scooter equipment you need. On the house, since I know the guy.**_

_**Michael**_

"Alright. More Cipher activity is just perfect for me…" smirked Pat. "We took care of our Shadow Pokemon that we could purify yesterday… Time to alert my underlings."

He exited his room in the Pokemon Center and gathered up May, Justin, and Brendan, the first and third of which were merely loitering around the Port. Justin, however, had just started a battle.

His opponent was a teen girl about half an inch taller than him, with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a dark pink, long-sleeved crop top, black pants, black gloves, a black cap with two red lines on it and two tail-like strips of cloth which extended to her waist and flapped in the sea air, and black boots. To Pat and Justin, this person, her name being Keller, was similar to the "Chaser" trainer class from the Pokemon games of their own world.

Keller already had two Pokemon out: a Pidgeotto and a Lombre. Justin was still selecting his.

"Okay, let's go! Banshee and Darkshark!"

From two Poke Balls Justin tossed into the air, his nicknamed Banette and Sharpedo appeared.

"Ba-nette…" moaned Banshee in its creepy voice.

"SHAR-PEDO!" barked Darkshark.

Justin smirked. "It's go time!"

_**Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.**_

_**Justin's Sharpedo, Darkshark, and Banette, Banshee vs. Keller's Pidgeotto and Lombre**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

"Darkshark, start with Focus Energy!"

Darkshark closed its eyes and focused its mind, increasing its critical hit rate.

"Banshee, Calm Mind!"

Banshee put its hands to its head, focusing its mind as well. This gave the Ghost-type a boost in Special Attack and Special Defense.

"Well, you start battles well." Keller smirked. "But I know how to finish them! Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack on Banette! Lombre, use Surf!"

Pidgeotto's wings began glowing white. It flew into the air, and dove for Banshee, while Lombre summoned a wave of water behind itself, and rode it towards both of Justin's Pokemon.

"Both of you, Double Team!"

Banshee and Darkshark formed illusionary copies of themselves, and spun around the battlefield. Surf made half of the copies disappear, and Wing Attack took out four. After this, the spinning stopped and the copies disappeared.

"Banshee, Shadow Ball!"

In its hands, Banshee formed a black-colored ball of energy, which began to grow. After it expanded a bit, Banshee released it at Lombre, hitting it backwards.

"Darkshark, use Crunch!"

Darkshark's teeth began glowing dark purple and black. With a quick dash for Pidgeotto, it bit down on the Normal/Flying Element, also making a green circle of light swirl down around it. This meant its Special Defense had fallen.

Darkshark ceased biting and returned to its side of the field.

"Hmm! You're not too bad at any stage of a fight!" Keller said. "But this isn't over yet, blonde! Lombre, use Fury Swipes and Pidgeotto, Fly!"

Lombre got up and ran at Darkshark and slashed it five times, each hit inflicting damage to both due to Darkshark's Rough Skin ability. Pidgeotto flew up into the air.

_Hmm… Pokemon using Fly can only be hit by Thunder, and Banshee just knows Thunderbolt…_ thought Justin. _…Or does it?_

"Banshee, try Thunder!"

Banshee looked at Justin with a confused look.

"Oh, you don't know Thunder?"

Banshee shook its head.

"Phooey. Oh, well. Use Shadow Blitz on Lombre!"

The Ghost Element Pokemon began glowing in that oft-seen shadowy aura, and rammed its body into Lombre, inflicting a super effective hit.

"Shadow Blitz, huh?" Keller queried. "So I'm guessing Cipher's back in business."

Justin nodded. "How do you know about Cipher?"

The female opponent of Justin grinned. "Michael battled me a lot with Shadow Pokemon. Let me tell you, that guy's tough for a kid."

They turned their attention back to the battle.

"And now, Pidgeotto, Fly!"

The Flying/Normal-type Pokemon dove from its midair perch towards Banshee. However, Banshee managed to evade Pidgeotto, causing it to crash into the ground.

"Ooh…" groaned Justin. "Okay, maybe that was… Uh… Unnecessary. Umm… Banshee, attack Lombre again with Shadow Blitz! And Darkshark, attack Pidgeotto with Shadow Rush!"

Both of Justin's Pokemon began to glow with dark purple energy. While Banshee merely rammed into Lombre as if using Tackle, Darkshark charged forward and hit Pidgeotto from the ground and into the air, with an evil smirk on its face (Or, as much of a smirk as a Sharpedo can have, anyway.).

Pidgeotto and Lombre collapsed, KO'd from the two super effective attacks.

"Alright, yeah! We won!" cheered Justin.

"Aw… Well, I guess we'll have to train harder." sighed Keller.

Both trainers recalled their fainted Pokemon, and Keller gave Justin a few Pokemon Dollars, then left.

"Not a bad victory, Justin…" Pat said quietly. Justin had a shocked look.

"HE… HE JUST COMPLIMENTED ME!"

Pat smacked his forehead. "Knucklehead. Now, as I've told Brendan and May…"

He turned around to see if the aforementioned couple was behind him, only to see them kissing. "BRENDAN! MAY! WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?! Grr… Anyway, as I told them, I received an email from Michael. It seems the Cipher Key Lair is active again."

Pat sweat dropped. "And again, Michael can't come."

Justin snapped his fingers. "Ah, you know what? The Cipher Key Lair is in the Orre Desert. Our scooter things can't handle the sand."

"Ah, but that's where a friend of Michael's comes in." replied Team Pat's "leader".

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_45 Minutes Later…_

Now the foursome was speeding across the vast Orre Desert, a place filled with sand, sand, maybe a plant or two, and… Well, more sand. Instead of motorized wheeled vehicles, they now had scooters that hovered above the ground, effectively making them hover-scooters.

And it wasn't long before their destination came into sight… On the horizon appeared what looked like a dark laboratory, with a long pathway leading to the door. It, however, was on solid rock instead of the arid desert, and had dark water around the pathway, including the huge circular front of the path.

"There it is!" cried out Justin. "The Key Lair, home of the Shadow Pokemon Factory…"

It took only ten minutes for them to reach it. The water was dark, the sides of the industrial building moldy and dark green.

"I should probably mention by now I don't have a very good relationship with mold." Pat muttered. The four had stepped off their scooters.

Guarding the thin pathway to the Key Lair entrance was a familiar face to Pat and Justin, from the Pokemon XD game: a barrel-chested man of maybe twenty, with towering blond hair and angry blue eyes. He wore a red t-shirt with a thunderbolt on the chest, which exposed a small part of his stomach, black shorts, and black boots. He had a very angry and disappointed expression.

_Oh, great. Zook. I remember that bozo from XD! Mean, muscular, and none too bright, but armed with a Shadow Zangoose back then. __**Back then**__…_ Pat thought.

Zook had seen Team Pat, and angrily rumbled towards them. "Well, well, well, what do we got here?! A bunch of pipsqueaks, that's what!" he growled.

Pat smirked. "Well, hello, there, bub. Zook, I believe? Hmph, you held up Michael two years ago, correct?"

Zook frowned at Pat and gritted his teeth. "HOW DARE YOU BRING UP ONE OF THE GREAT ZOOK'S LOSSES TO MY FACE?!"

"Get over yourself, bub. The 'Great' Zook? Ha, you couldn't harm a fly!"

As if just to prove Pat wrong, a fly buzzed by Zook's head, and was instantly swatted ten yards away.

"You were saying…?!" growled the blonde.

"GRR! Okay, just buzz off, Zook, and let us through."

Now Zook was angry. He stomped his foot and growled again. "You think you can get past me?! JUST TRY!"

He pulled a Poke Ball from his a belt around his waist and tossed it out. "C'mon out, Tauros!"

From the Poke Ball appeared a Tauros, a Normal-type Pokemon with the appearance of a brown bull with a dark brown mane, silver horns and a silver dot on its forehead, three tails instead of one, and a dark brown snout. It let out a moo-ish roar.

"Hmm. Tauros…. Alright, let's go, Pikachu." Pat said, also throwing a Poke Ball into the air. From the white light materialized Pikachu.

"Pi-ka-chu!" cried out the Electric-type. Pikachu had been recently purified, so all harshness and cruelness was gone from its voice.

Before the battle could begin, Pat's Shadow Detector popped out of its socket.

"Tauros. Level 35. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Sky and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Hmm! Sounds like another Zangoose…" Pat said to himself.

_**Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.**_

_**Pat's Pikachu vs. Zook's Tauros**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

"Pikachu, begin with Thunder Wave."

Pikachu's body flashed with yellow electricity, and sent a weak bolt at Tauros.

"HA! Tauros, dodge and go for Shadow Rush!"

Tauros leapt out of Thunder Wave's path, then began charging, literally like a bull, towards Pikachu with a shadowy aura.

"Pikachu, use Double Team!"

Just before impact, Pikachu split himself into multiple copies of himself, quickly and invisibly shuffling around the field in a circle. Tauros glanced at the copies in different directions, then shook its head in confusion.

"And now, Thunderbolt!"

The original Pikachu appeared behind Tauros, flashed golden, and shot a same-colored beam of lightning out from its body, the move connecting with the Normal Element immediately.

"Grr…!" Zook growled angrily.

"Alright, Pikachu. Quick Attack, go!" shouted Pat.

With light white trailing it, Pikachu dashed into Tauros, knocking it onto the ground.

"Tackle!"

The Electric-type rammed its body into Tauros again, keeping it on the ground.

"And now for the finish! Attack with your Thunderbolt again!"

Pikachu's body crackled with electricity, then it blasted another bolt of lightning at Tauros, hitting once more.

Pat now clutched a Great Ball glowing red in his Snag Machine hand. He threw it towards the Shadow Pokemon.

"Go, Snag Ball!"

Upon contact, the Ball opened up and sucked Tauros inside. It fell to the ground and began twitching back and forth. Eventually, it stopped, and Pat picked it up.

"Heh… Your Pokemon has been Snagged, Zook." He stylishly spun the Great Ball on his index finger.

"GAH!" fumed Zook. "You… You… Just like that brat Michael…! Next time we meet, I'll… ARGH!"

He ran away from the Key Lair, soon out of site.

"Heh-heh-heh." chuckled Pat. "Well, Tauros is mine. I could use a speedy, high-Attack Pokemon."

He recalled Pikachu, and Team Pat began walking up the long slanted path going up to the building. Upon further examination, the Key Lair was protected from outside disturbance by a clear triangle of some sort, starting at the front wall of the building entrance.

But before the four could enter, a Cipher Grunt ran out.

"What…? What is this?! Zook lost to some brats?! Let's see…"

He glanced, glaringly, at May, Brendan, Pat, and Justin in that order.

"…A rather attractive young girl, a bleach-haired snow cone head, a… Hair-obsessed freak, and… A… Blond."

Anger crosses popped on everyone's head, except for May, who blushed, although even she was angry.

"YOU DARE INSULT OUR HAIR?!" shouted Justin and Brendan, pointing to themselves, each other, and Pat.

"YOU DARE INSULT _**MY HAIR?!**_"

Justin pulled out a Poke Ball. "I'll handle this one, Pat… No one insults blonds…"

A dark purple glint seemed to shine across Justin's eyes, but went unnoticed, except by May.

_What…? His eyes… Kinda like Pat's…_

The Grunt also held a Poke Ball. "Alright, fine! Let's do things the fun way! I summon you, Kangaskhan!"

From the Poke Ball appeared a Kangaskhan, a Normal-type with a dinosaur-like body, a black skull helmet, cream-colored horns coming from the sides of its head, a brown body with a tail, cream-colored claws, and a cream-colored belly, which had a pouch on its stomach containing a baby Kangaskhan, only it had purple skin instead of brown.

"KHAN!" screamed the Pokemon.

"Heh. Let's go, Sharpleaf!"

From Justin's Poke Ball appeared his nicknamed Grovyle.

"VYLE!" screeched the Grass Element.

Before anything could be done, Justin's own Shadow Detector visor appeared.

"Kangaskhan. Level 35. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow End, and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON!"

Justin smirked. "Well, time for my second snag with this baby…" he spoke quietly, looking at his Snag Machine.

_**Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.**_

_**Justin's Grovyle, Sharpleaf VS Cipher Peon Humah's Kangaskhan**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

Justin pointed forward. "Alright! Sharpleaf, let's begin!"

Sharpleaf nodded back at him, readying for battle.

PM: Yes, I'm cutting it off there. Told you the chapters would be short! Well, okay, the next one will be longer, but anyway… R&R. No flames, no mention of the wait. Important things have inerrupted progress. Whaddya want from me, money?


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Cipher Key Lair, Pt

PM: ZOMG! Another, more dramatic change.

NO MORE HUGE PARAGRAPHS DESCRIBING POKEMON! Well, okay, there will be descriptions, but not to the length one could easily become infamous for…

_**Chapter Sixteen: The Cipher Key Lair, Pt. 2!**_

"Kangaskhan. Level 35. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow End, and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON!" droned Justin's Shadow Detector.

Justin smirked. "Well, time for my second snag with this baby…" he spoke quietly, looking at his Snag Machine.

_**Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.**_

_**Justin's Grovyle, Sharpleaf VS Cipher Peon Humah's Kangaskhan**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

_Shadow End, hmm?_ thought Justin. _Interesting. One of the most powerful Shadow attacks… A Shadow Double-Edge!_

"Sharpleaf!" he spoke. "Use Leaf Blade!"

With its leaf-like arm appendage glowing light green and expended to a longer scythe-shape, Sharpleaf sprinted for Kangaskhan, preparing to slash it.

"Kangaskhan, dodge, then retaliate with Shadow Rush!" shouted Humah.

Kangaskhan evaded Sharpleaf's attack, then countered with an ineffective shadowy slam, sending Sharpleaf back a bit.

"You DO know my Pokemon's a Shadow Pokemon, right…?" Justin sweat dropped.

"…Oh. No, I didn't. Um… Crud." muttered Humah in reply.

"Idiot. Sharpleaf, use Tackle!"

Sharpleaf performed a simple body ram on Kangaskhan.

"Kangaskhan! Use your Shadow End attack!"

Justin growled as Kangaskhan began glowing an even darker color than normal. With its eyes actually shining a fierce red, the Normal Element let out a fierce roar and charged into Sharpleaf, knocking both Pokemon backwards. Sharpleaf seemed relatively alright, but Kangaskhan was panting heavily.

"Some Grunt you are." mumbled Justin. "That Shadow End is like a double-edged sword; heavy damage inflicted to the victim most of the time, but half of the user's HP is drained! Well, like I thought earlier, it's like Double-Edge with more or less backlash."

Humah growled angrily. "HENCE THE NAME. DOUBLE. EDGE."

The blonde chuckled quietly at this. "You've left yourself open. Sharpleaf, attack! Tackle, again!"

Sharpleaf once more performed a weak ram attack on its foe.

"THAT'S IT! ALL-OUT DOOM TIME! SHADOW END AGAIN!" yelled the Cipher Grunt.

Kangaskhan wearily began shining with a very dark purple aura and its eyes shone red. With a powerful lunge, it sent Sharpleaf flying backwards, but dropped to a knee afterward.

"Sharpleaf…" gasped Justin as his Pokemon fell. "…Are you okay?"

The Grass-type stood back up and nodded.

"Great! Now, it's time…" Justin began to charge up a Snag Ball, an Ultra Ball, in his Snag hand. It glowed red, like all Snag Balls.

"Snag Ball! Go!"

He launched the sphere at Kangaskhan, which touched the large Pokemon, opened up, and sucked it inside. The Snag Ball twitched several times, and soon stopped.

"Bingo. Kangaskhan has been Snagged!" smirked Pat's blonde companion. He dashed to the Ultra Ball and grabbed it, and Humah fell to his knees.

"I… I lost?! TO A BLONDE?!"

Justin scowled and walked over to the opposing trainer. He grabbed him by the helmet.

"Stop it with the insults about my hair, Humah. Or else you shall suffer a horrible fate…"

"That's right!" smirked Pat, finally speaking for the first time in ten minutes. "You insulted my hair as well, so what'll it be? Hanging, decapitation, torture…?"

Humah screamed and wiggled out of Justin's grasp. He ran away, but his Cipher Grunt helmet remained in Justin's hand.

"…Um… Huh. That's weird."

He dropped the helmet and continued through the hallway. May and Brendan followed him closer than Pat, who was staring at the Cipher Grunt headgear with an angry glare.

A loud crash was the sound that came next, which was from Pat smashing the helmet into pieces with his foot.

_THAT is what will happen to Cipher… GACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!_ he cackled in his mind, smirking darkly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He caught up with the other three quickly. The first room of the Key Lair seemed to be a bit of a laboratory: two conveyor belts were noticed, along with many walls and two staircases.

"Hmm… I don't see anyone. That might be good or bad." mumbled Brendan.

Pat's ears then picked up the sound of snickering. He looked above them, seeing another Cipher Grunt.

_Oh, for crying out loud. These idiots are the worst spies in the world!_

He leapt from the ground and, in a clearly cheesy action cinema scene, performed a flip-kick in the air, knocking the Grunt down.

It was a male, who groaned as he hit the floor. "…Ugh… WHO ARE YOU… TO KNOCK ME FROM MY CEILING?!"

Pat chuckled quietly, and stood up. "Pat. Pat McClintock."

Justin smacked his forehead. "WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE _JAMES BOND _REFERENCES?!"

Pat muttered a few things, then faced the Grunt. "Battle. Now, you impudent swine."

The Cipher Grunt mumbled, "...Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…" and proceeded to pull out a Poke Ball from his belt.

"Go for it, Rhyhorn!"

From inside the Poke Ball appeared a Rhyhorn, a Ground/Rock Pokemon with a gray rock body with the appearance of a small, hunched-down rhinoceros.

Pat's visor flipped in front of his eyes, obviously detecting a Shadow Pokemon.

"Rhyhorn. Level 35. Rock/Ground Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON!"

Pat cracked his knuckles." Alright then! Let's party! Go, Milotic!"

The leader of "Team Pat" threw an Ultra Ball into the air… A little too hard, as it bounced against the ceiling.

Justin slapped his forehead. "A LITTLE TOO HYPED, AREN'T YA?!"

Pat sweat-dropped. "…Shut up."

The yellow and black Poke Ball still opened, revealing Milotic, who hummed majestically.

Pat caught the Ultra Ball, put his hand on his hip, and pointed toward the Grunt with his index and middle finger.

"Show me your moves!"

_**Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.**_

_**Pat's Milotic VS Cipher Grunt Targ's Rhyhorn**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

"Milotic, begin with Hypnosis."

Milotic focused on Rhyhorn, its eyes glowing blue. Three rings of blue energy flew towards Rhyhorn.

"Rhyhorn!" yelled Targ. "Dodge that, then attack with Headbutt!"

Rhyhorn dodged the trio of rings with surprising speed for a rock-bodied rhinoceros, then began dashing towards Milotic with its head lowered.

"Milotic, dodge as well! Follow with Water Pulse!"

The aquatic, cream-colored serpent easily dodged Rhyhorn's attack, then shot three watery blue rings towards it from her mouth. Water Pulse hit the Rock/Ground type's large head, knocking it back and causing superficial damage.

Pat smirked. "Heh… This battle's already tipped in my favor."

Targ growled. "A little cocky, huh?! It ain't over until it's over!"

"_**ISN'T**_, you bumbling idiot." corrected Pat.

"OH SHUT UP YA LOUSY GRAMMAR NAZI. WHAT IS THIS, 4CHAN?"

Pat blinked. _…Um… Huh. And I thought that disgrace to the internet didn't exist here._

Targ angrily pointed at Milotic. "Rhyhorn! Use Thunderbolt!"

Team Pat's leader gasped slightly. "Thunderbolt?!"

Rhyhorn reared back, shooting a golden thunderbolt from its body, zapping Milotic. The floating serpent let out a screech of pain.

Pat gritted his teeth. "Should've expected that… Milotic, attack with Shadow Storm!"

Recovering from the harsh blow, Milotic spun around, creating a black and dark purple tornado which spun towards Rhyhorn, hitting it for minor damage. But the two combined hits of Water Pulse and Shadow Storm were clearly visible, as the creature's legs wobbled weakly.

"Alright." Pat muttered, pulling out a Great Ball. He threw it when it shone red. "Snag Ball, go!"

The Snag Ball hit Rhyhorn's head, popped open, and sucked it inside. The sphere hit the ground, wiggled, and eventually stopped.

Pat cackled. "Another Shadow Pokemon! HA-HA-HA!"

The Cipher Grunt shook with anger as Pat tauntingly threw the Poke Ball containing what was once his Pokemon, and caught it again.

"…You… I'll be back, you twit!" Targ ran off, out of sight.

"Heh…" chuckled Pat. "Yeah, he'll be back. In another decade…."

Pat threw the Ball up one more time, but it was caught by Brendan.

"…Ahem?" queried Pat.

Brendan put the blue, red, and white sphere in his pocket. "Listen, you! I haven't gotten a new Pokemon since Huntail! So…" The white-haired trainer stuck out his tongue.

Pat sweat-dropped. "Fine, fine. I suppose you do deserve a Pokemon of Rhyhorn's power… For now."

He led the other three deeper into a nearby corridor…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Heh. Lights out for you and your Pokemon!" said Justin, taunting a just-defeated female Cipher Peon, who ran away like any other Cipher member.

He recalled Banshee, and followed Pat, Brendan, and May up a near flight of stairs. This led them outside, on the top of the Key Lair.

"Hmm… This is familiar…" muttered Pat to Justin, who nodded. They glanced at a switch up above, only a pair of staircases between them and it.

"May. Brendan." spoke Pat, beckoning for them to follow him and his friend. In the back of the roof were the twin staircases. Pat and Justin walked over to the switch, and read a large label, which had large white letters.

_**CAUTION! DO NOT, REPEAT DO **__**NOT**__**, PULL THIS LEVER. IT IS ONLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, AS IT USES UP THE EMERGENCY GENERATOR'S POWER SUPPLY IN CASE OF A GENERATOR FAILURE AND PUMPS IT INTO THE STANDARD GENERATOR. AGAIN, **__**DO NOT PULL!!**_

"…" Pat smirked, and kicked the lever off the ground, then slammed it to the other side. A rumble, along with several electrical sounds, was heard, and smoke began sprouting from a large black contraption behind the Key Lair roof.

"So _**that's **_the generator." said Justin.

Upon him finishing, the emergency power supplier exploded with a cloud of black smoke. Sirens began blaring.

"Oh crud…" gulped May. "…We shouldn't have done that!"

A loud bang noise was heard, and a plunger-tipped dart stuck to Pat's head. Attached to it was the message:

_**FOOLED YOU IDIOTS!**_

The four turned to the staircase to see a squad of Cipher Peons dash up the stairs, followed by two R&D's. All of them held several Poke Balls.

"…Well this can't be good…" muttered Brendan.

One of the Peons stepped forward. "Told you I'd be back."

Pat scowled. "…Targ…"

Targ nodded, with a smirk. He held up a bomb-shaped device. "Hooray for smoke grenades that fool naïve little children into thinking that something blew up… Now give yourselves up and I promise not to hurt any of you… _**Much.**_"

All six of the Cipher members threw Poke Balls each into the air, calling out nine Pokemon: a Mightyena, a Lombre, a Pikachu, a Banette, an Aerodactyl, a Kadabra, a Marshtomp, a Golbat, and a second Lombre, and then four new Pokemon.

A Pupitar, a blue Rock/Ground-type with a small, beetle shell or cocoon-shaped body. A four-pointed star shape formed a "mask" over its small head, from which angry eyes were glaring out, and a Medicham, a humanoid Psychic/Fighting Pokemon with pale pink skin, large red lips, an odd-shaped head with a reddish-pink "cap" with yellow dots, reddish-pink legs with yellow dots on the knees, and also a fierce glare, were side-by-side. They two belonged to an R&D on the left of the six-man group.

And from Targ, first came a Masquerain, a Bug/Flying-type with a slight butterfly look. It had orange and white folded-back wings that looked like angry eyes, a pale blue body, a large orange nose, and diamond-shaped feet. The second Pokemon was a Vibrava, a Ground/Dragon type with a yellow dragonfly-like body, with six gray "Y"-shaped feet, four green diamond-shaped wings that were in overlapping pairs, and large, spherical eyes.

Instantly, Pat and Justin's visors popped up. Pat's focused on the R&D's Pokemon, and Justin's on Targ's.

"Masquerain. Bug/Flying Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rave and Shadow Wave. SHADOW POKEMON! Vibrava. Dragon/Ground Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow Storm, and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON!"

"Pupitar. Rock/Ground Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rave, Shadow Down, and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON! Medicham. Fighting/Psychic Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Down. SHADOW POKEMON!"

May gulped nervously. "We're going up against _four_ Shadow Pokemon, and nine normal ones… It's over…"

Pat smirked, and turned to May. "Listen. It isn't over yet. I, for one, will not give up until there is a one hundred _**fifty **_percent chance of failure. Currently, there is a…"

He rubbed his chin in thought. "…_**Negative thirty-five.**_ Heh…"

Targ smirked at Pat. "A little too confident, huh brat?"

The leader of Team Pat laughed. "TOO confident? No… No, I'm under confident. Losing to idiots like you… It won't happen. Now, the future, or in a parallel universe."

He then turned back to May and Brendan. "You two, send out every single one of your Pokemon. Justin, you as well."

May's and Brendan's eyes bulged out to the size of dinner plates.

"WHAT?!" cried out May. "B-But isn't that against battle rules?"

Justin and Pat slapped their respective foreheads, the former speaking afterward.

"May… Listen… Do you want to escape torture and/or death and/or enslavement? SEND OUT EVERY SINGLE POKEMON YOU HAVE, or we could easily fail here."

"Heh… Don't be such a scrub, May. In this game, I play to win." said Pat eerily. "And thus, when the time comes, I don't hesitate. I just act. What's the matter? Scared? Come on! Show them your moves! Or are you too slow? Bah, I have no time to ponder such questions, as I have just grabbed a Poke Ball." To accompany his statement, Pat drew a Poke Ball from his belt.

Justin gained an expression that could be expressed in three letters: O.o, a sweat drop accompanying it.

"That is such an epic win… SEVEN cool quotes that have to do with Smash Bros and/or Star Fox…" he said.

May and Brendan tilted their heads questioningly. "…What?"

Pat shook his head. "NEVER MIND. Listen, you nitwits, do as I say or be confined to a surely gloomy and moldy cell for the rest of your invaluable lives! OR DO WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING OURSELVES?!"

He turned, and threw six multiple-type Poke Balls into the air, Justin following shortly. From Pat's came Aerodactyl, Croconaw, Pikachu, Tauros, Milotic, and Combusken. From Justin's materialized Snorunt, Barboach, TerraMarine, Banshee, Kangaskhan, which had been nicknamed Crusher, and Sharpleaf. All twelve Pokemon let out their respective cries.

Brendan and May looked at each other and nodded, releasing twelve of their own Pokemon: Kabuto, Eevee, Furret, Gorebyss, Linoone, and Blissey from May and Seviper, Rhyhorn, Bayleef, Huntail, Golbat, and Natu from Brendan.

Targ smirked. "Not eve a thousand of those weaklings will stand up to our four Shadow Pokemon…"

Pat smirked back. "Untrue. The main setback of Shadow Pokemon is that their increase in experience is capped. Thus, they can't grow any stronger than what they are upon having their heart's doors closed. We've been training our Purified Pokemon here quite a lot. Now…" He raised a fist. "Prepare to be bested."

The Cipher Peon slapped his helmet. "Where do you come up with this stuff…?"

PM: YAH I'M BACK! I'd like to thanks Jarkes () for his inspiring reviews… You really should make an account, Jarkes, so I can reply to your questions privately!

R&R please. Also, as for those "seven cool quotes", you wouldn't know about some of them unless you've played Super Smash Bros. Brawl. If you haven't, I pity you. The rest come from that game's official site, the Smash Bros. DOJO!! (), Wolf O'Donnell of Star Fox fame, and from Dave Sirlin, competitive fighting gamer extraordinaire. They and their sources really are:

(The first two sentences are adaptable and aren't strict quotes. Also, I changed some of the statements around a bit.) "Don't hesitate. When the time comes, just act." and "What's the matter? Scared?" are from Wolf, the former from Star Fox Assault and the latter from Brawl. "You have no time to ponder such questions, as Link has just grabbed a Smash Ball." is from the Smash Bros. DOJO!!. "Show me your moves!", "Come on!", and "You're too slow!" are from Brawl as well, being said by Captain Falcon (The first two; the latter is also said by Fox.) and Sonic the Hedgehog (The third).

In other words, I just made two huge paragraphs that have just random trivia pertaining to humor! Go me!


	17. Chapter 17

PM: …You'll probably only get the chapter title if…

PM: …You'll probably only get the chapter title if…

A: You've watched the movie _300_. I haven't.

B: You've been on any internet forum. I have.

Reference: THIS IS SPARTA!! Lame, if you ask me. XD

And, one more change. I won't be including the time limit and substitution thing in the battle statistics unless needed.

_**Chapter 17: THIS… IS… WAR!! **_

An impossible event was taking place at the top of the Cipher Key Lair… Twenty-four of Team Pat's Pokemon against thirteen Cipher Pokemon, four of which were Shadow Pokemon. This was no ordinary Pokemon battle, clearly… It was more of a Pokemon _war_.

Pat popped his knuckles. "Alright guys, follow my lead. Combusken, begin charging Flamethrower! Aerodactyl, begin charging Hyper Beam! Croconaw, begin charging Hydro Cannon!"

Combusken's beak flashed with fire, and a ball of fiery colors formed in front of its mouth. A ball of golden-orange energy formed in Aerodactyl's, and a large water sphere formed in Croconaw's.

"Fire when I tell you. _**Do not hit Vibrava, Pupitar, Medicham, or Masquerain.**_"

Justin followed. "Snorunt, start charging Ice Beam! Banshee, start a Shadow Ball! Sharpleaf, get in position for Bullet Seed!"

An icy blue ball of energy materialized in front of Snorunt's mouth, a black and dark purple sphere in front of Banshee's hands, and a yellow sphere appeared in Sharpleaf's mouth.

"Now! Fire your attacks together!" spoke both.

With a blast of multiple colors, six attacks came together: a beam of fire, a large golden-orange beam, two spinning water beams, a thunderbolt-style ice-colored blast, a dark purple and black blob, and a fury of yellow, seed-shaped bullets. This formed a large beam of multiple colors, which blasted through five of the normal Pokemon, KO'ing all five: the two Lombre, Mightyena, Pikachu, and Marshtomp.

Pat gulped nervously. "That… Was… Wow. That was incredible."

Justin nodded, and chuckled quietly as three Cipher Peons recalled their defeated Pokemon, two of which ran off.

"That was easy." muttered Brendan. "Now all we need to KO are four normal Pokemon, then weaken the rest. Piece of cake."

He then pointed forward. "Seviper and Huntail, use Poison Tail and Bite on Banette!"

Seviper and Huntail rushed forward toward the second Pokemon belonging to one of the Cipher Grunts. The Poison-type slammed its purple-glowing tail into Banette's black-gray body, and was followed by Huntail's dark purple-glowing jaws clamping down on it. The two attacks knocked out the Ghost type quickly.

The Grunt who lost one Pokemon earlier recalled Banette, then followed his comrades and ran off.

"…This is too easy…" chuckled Brendan smugly.

"Masquerain!" shouted Targ. "Vibrava! Attack them! Shadow Rush and Shadow Rave!"

Vibrava shone in a dark purple color, and sped towards Huntail, slamming into it with Shadow Rush, causing a large amount of damage. Masquerain shone in the same color, but shot out a wave of shadowy spikes toward all twenty-four of Team Pat's Pokemon, attempting to skewer them all.

"Aerodactyl, fly towards those spikes with Protect." said Pat.

Aerodactyl formed a green bubble shield around its body, then spun straight for the ever-widening row of shadowy spikes, making them all dissipate.

"Heh… Clever." muttered Targ.

The R&D who owned Pupitar and Medicham, Klots, pointed his finger out. "Pupitar, Shadow Rave. Medicham, Shadow Wave."

Pupitar sent out another wave of shadowy spikes, while Medicham did the same, but the spikes were only two small, floating strands of shadow energy.

"Aerodactyl won't be able to use Protect against both attacks." Justin said. "Sharpleaf, use Bullet Seed to counter Shadow Wave!"

May spoke up for the first time in minutes. "Gorebyss, use Surf to counter Shadow Rave!"

Sharpleaf shot a barrage of seed-shaped bullets toward the two advancing shadow energy strands, causing them to dissipate. After all friendly Pokemon moved out of the way, Gorebyss summoned an enormous wave and rode it into the Shadow Rave, causing the second use of the attack to disappear as well.

Targ and Klots growled angrily. "Blast those brats…" muttered Targ. "…They're crafty…"

Pat turned to Croconaw. "Well, Croconaw. Think you can help finish off Aerodactyl, Golbat, and Kadabra…?"

Croconaw looked at Pat as if his trainer was mad, but received a confidence-granting smirk.

"Come now, Croconaw. After all this, I'm sure you can decimate these… These… Inferior pests. And now! Aim your Hydro Cannon for Aerodactyl!"

Croconaw turned to Aerodactyl, forming an enormous sphere of water in its open mouth.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Golbat!" shouted Pat. "Tauros, use…"

He was cut off by Brendan. "Must you always take the glory?!" shouted the white-haired trainer.

Pat backed down as Pikachu fired a large bolt of golden lightning, zapping and KO'ing Golbat, while twin, swirling blasts of water took out Aerodactyl, both of which were recalled.

Brendan pointed forward. "Rhyhorn! Go for Kadabra with Shadow Rush!"

Rhyhorn glowed a deep purple, then ran for Kadabra.

The only remaining Cipher member, aside from Targ and Klots, smirked. "Kadabra, use Psychic!"

The golden and brown fox-like Pokemon twirled its blue-glowing spoon, sending a beam of light purple energy at Rhyhorn. This beam sent the Rock/Ground type flying backwards, stopping Shadow Rush.

Brendan gasped. "Rhyhorn! Argh… Alright then. Golbat, Huntail, and Seviper, use Bite!"

All three Pokemon, fangs and jaws glowing a sinister purple, rushed toward Kadabra, clamping their jaws onto its body and knocking it out immediately. Kadabra's owner recalled it and ran off.

"Looks like it's just us…" smirked Targ. Klots nodded.

"Indeed, sir…"

Pat turned. "Well gang, I guess we don't need twenty-four Pokemon out right now. Combat each Shadow Pokemon two-on-two. I'll take Vibrava and Masquerain. Justin, mind being my partner…?"

The blonde shook his head. "Not at all…"

The members of Team Pat recalled all but four Pokemon: Croconaw, Banshee, Seviper, and Gorebyss. Pat and Justin, along with Banshee and Croconaw, faced Targ and his two Shadow Pokemon, while May and Brendan, with Gorebyss and Seviper, faced Klots and his Pupitar and Medicham.

Pat smirked, and jabbed out his left hand. He then flexed his fingers back twice. "Come on! Show me your moves!"

Justin again gained an almost indescribable look: "O.O". After shaking off the odd look, he removed his Snag Machine, throwing it to Brendan.

"Bleach Hair, catch!" he called out. Brendan "snagged" the Snag Machine out of the air, and equipped it, giving a thumbs-up.

With that, the two double battles began…

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

PM: And I'm cutting it there. I hate to, because this chapter seems rather short, but the next one will be a lot longer. R&R please.


	18. Chapter 18

PM: Guess what? Another chapter without a year-long pause! O

I'll note who is battling after an "0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0". Another note: I'll be editing Chapter 17 to make more sense. Just so you don't have to wait or go back, I'll fill you in here. I changed it so that two two-on-two battles take place; Brendan and May vs. Klots and Pat and Justin vs. Targ.

_**Chapter 18: Battle Aboard the Key Lair Ceiling **_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**May & Brendan**_

_**Battle Statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle.**_

_**May's Gorebyss and Brendan's Seviper vs. Cipher Peon Klots' Pupitar and Medicham**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

"Alright Gorebyss! Start us off with Light Screen!" shouted May.

Gorebyss' eyes glowed a light green color, coating itself and Seviper in a light green hue, which disappeared shortly, slightly boosting their Special Defense.

"Heh, Special Defense won't help you against Shadow attacks, my dear." smirked Klots. "Pupitar, Earthquake! Medicham, Shadow Wave!"

Pupitar slammed its cocoon-shaped body into the ground, sending out orange-brown waves of energy. Gorebyss and Seviper managed to dodge the Earthquake by jumping, but both met two floating, dark purple shadowy strands of energy from Medicham's Shadow Wave, the two Pokemon taking super effective damage.

"Ooh. That didn't look comfortable…" muttered Brendan. "Seviper! Attack Pupitar with Poison Tail!"

Seviper let out a loud hiss, and dashed for Pupitar with its edged tail glowing a bright purple. The snake-like Pokemon slammed its tail into Pupitar, sending the Rock/Ground Element backwards a few feet, damaging it mildly.

"Gorebyss, use Hydro Pump on Medicham!"

In front of Gorebyss' needle-shaped mouth, a ball of water formed. A twisting beam of blue water shot forward, slamming into Medicham and knocking it onto its back, several feet away.

"Get up, you wimp!" growled Klots. "Medicham, Thunderpunch that sniveling Gorebyss! Pupitar, Shadow Blitz!"

Medicham's left fist began crackling with electricity. It began dashing for Gorebyss, fist outstretched. Pupitar also made a dash for the pink snake-like Pokemon, only its whole body was coated in shadow.

"Seviper, Protect!" shouted Brendan.

Seviper screamed over in front of Gorebyss, and brought up a green bubble shield, canceling the two attacks.

May sighed. "Thanks, Brendan… Now, Gorebyss! Use Shadow Rush on Medicham!"

"Seviper, attack Pupitar with Bite!"

Gorebyss, coated in a deep cloud of shadows, slammed in to the vulnerable Medicham, inflicting low damage. Regardless, signs of battle wear were beginning to appear…

Seviper followed suit by chomping down on Pupitar with darkness-coated jaws, also lowering its HP by a little.

"Sniveling brats…" muttered Klots. "They won't beat me… Medicham! Attack Gorebyss with Thunderpunch again! Pupitar, Earthquake!"

Medicham's left fist began crackling with golden electricity again. This time, it successfully slammed its hand into Gorebyss, slamming the Water-type backward several feet and inflicting major damage. Meanwhile, Pupitar slammed its body onto the ground, sending orange-brown shockwaves out in all directions. Medicham leapt above its partner's attack, but both Seviper and Gorebyss suffered from the Ground-type move, Seviper twice as much.

Brendan gritted his teeth angrily. "We've almost got him… We've come too far in this battle to lose. Alright, Snag Ball!"

The white-haired trainer grabbed an Ultra Ball from his backpack, which began glowing a red light.

"Go!" shouted Brendan as he threw the sphere at Medicham, making contact quickly. A mere five clicks, and the yellow and black-topped Poke Ball moved no more.

"There's one down!" cheered May.

"And the second will be soon. Seviper, get the Ball!" called out Brendan. His Poison Element Pokemon slithered over to the Ultra Ball, and slapped it with its tail into Brendan's hand.

"Alright. With that done… Gorebyss, use Hidden Power!" shouted May.

Gorebyss shone a brilliant white, and, with a cry, sent a wave of white energy spheres out in all directions, several of them slamming into Pupitar.

"Seviper, use Glare!"

Seviper focused its gaze onto Pupitar's eyes. The snake-like Pokemon's eyes flashed a dark purple, causing Pupitar to shudder violently, now paralyzed.

"And now, for the second! Snag Ball, go!" called out Brendan, sending forth a red-glowing Great Ball toward the Ground/Rock Element. The blue, red, and white sphere popped open upon contact, sucking Pupitar inside with a red light. The Great Ball fell to the ground and wiggled around seven times, ceasing afterward.

"Ha-HA! We got it!" cheered Brendan, pumping a fist into the air.

Klots growled angrily, and began running toward the Great Ball containing what was once his Pokemon. "I'll never let you have it…!"

Seviper, however, dashed to the Poke Ball and coiled up, glaring at the Cipher R&D angrily. Klots whimpered at the sight of a preparing-to-strike Seviper, and fell backward.

May retrieved the Great Ball, then whispered something into Seviper's… Invisible ears. The snake-esque Pokemon then snickered in its raspy manner, and coiled its tail around Klots.

"You aren't going to escape the law, Klots." teased May, sticking her tongue out. "You… And soon the rest of Cipher will be where you belong for treating Pokemon so badly! Imprisoned!"

Klots merely sighed sadly, and slumped back. This, however, received a squeeze from Seviper…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Pat & Justin**_

_**Battle Statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle.**_

_**Pat's Croconaw and Justin's Banette, Banshee vs. Cipher Peon Targ's Masquerain and Vibrava**_

_**BATTLE COMMENCE!**_

"Banshee, start with Shadow Ball on Masquerain." spoke Justin.

The Ghost-type formed a black ball of energy between its dark gray palms, then fired it directly toward Vibrava.

"Dodge it, Vibrava, and retaliate with Shadow Rush!"

Vibrava shone in a deep purple color, then dashed underneath the Shadow Ball, straight for Banshee, hitting its large head and sending it backward.

"Croconaw." said Pat, in an oddly calm manner. "Use Surf."

Croconaw summoned an enormous wave of water behind it, hopped atop it, and rode the tidal wave straight for the opposing team, Banshee behind the attack. Surf- along with Croconaw- crashed down on both Vibrava and Masquerain.

"Follow with Crunch, on Masquerain."

With darkness-clad fangs, Croconaw lunged toward Masquerain, barely missing the Ground/Dragon Element with a powerful chomp.

…_Hmm…_ thought Pat._ …Croconaw has become… Mildly aggressive. It hasn't cried since Lieno, I think… Perhaps I've finally rubbed off on it! It's created a new record, filed under "time between Croconaw's anti-battle crying"! _

He shook any further thoughts from his mind, and continued the battle.

"Masquerain!" growled Targ. "Silver Wind!"

Silver sparkles began whirling around Masquerain, which then swooped down upon Banshee and Croconaw in the form of a silver-colored gust of wind, the attack inflicting minor damage.

"That all ya got?" smirked Pat.

"Frankly, no." said Targ, with a dark smirk. "Vibrava! Attack Croconaw with Dragon Claw now!"

The ends of Vibrava's two front legs began glowing a red color. The Ground/Dragon Pokemon rushed toward Croconaw, slashing its stomach and head with its would-be claws, the attack being critical. Croconaw flew into the air, landing two yards back on its side.

"Er… Croconaw…?" questioned Pat, worriedly. "Are you alright?"

The Water-type groaned, and stood up, having a defeated expression on its face.

"…" Pat arched an eyebrow, noticing a quick change in its expression; Croconaw had gone from looking like a Pokemon that had given up during an important match, to a Pokemon comparable to a an enraged bull.

"Err… Croconaw, are you alright?"

The Water-type panted heavily, then raised its head up into the air, letting out a loud roar. It then began glowing a bright white.

Pat smirked. _HOT DOG! Finally, that thing will evolve! HA-HA-HA!_

In around five seconds, Croconaw's shape had morphed into a larger form. It had ceased glowing, revealing it had evolved into a Feraligatr, a bipedal, alligator-esque, blue Water-type Pokemon. It had three red spikes on the top of its head and down its back, white claws, a yellow lower jaw, several fangs popping out from its upper and lower jaws, and a yellow V shape on its chest. Its tail had a trio of red triangular spikes on it as well. The new Pokemon let out a fierce roar.

"All right, NOW we're cooking…" smirked Pat. "You still up for this, Cro- Err, Feraligatr?"

Feraligatr turned to Pat, and gave a nod.

"Heh… Well then! Attack Masquerain with Tackle!"

The Water Element sweat dropped at the command, but shrugged it off. Feraligatr charged straight for Masquerain, slamming it to the ground.

For the third time in a fifteen-minute period, Justin gained an "O.O" look.

"What's the matter?" said Pat to Justin. "Scared?"

Justin's eyes turned to a sideways X, and his mouth to a D, with the curved side on the bottom. His expression then returned to its normal serious self. "Masquerain looks weak enough. Go for it, Pat."

Pat nodded, grabbing a Great Ball. It shone a dark red, and was soon tossed at Masquerain. The sphere popped open and sucked the Bug/Flying dual-type inside, falling to the ground. Only a mere three clicks and twitches occurred before the blue and red-topped Poke Ball ceased moving.

Justin gave Pat a thumbs-up. "Alright! Banshee, grab it!"

Banshee dashed forward, slamming the Great Ball with his head to Justin's hand. "My guess is, this'll probably go to May…" said the blonde as he stowed it away inside his jacket. "Okay, back to the battle. Banshee, attack Vibrava with Shadow Ball!"

Banshee put its palms together, forming a large black and purple ball of darkness. The Shadow Ball then shot towards Vibrava, hitting its wings and sending the Ground/Dragon Pokemon backward a few feet, landing on its back.

"And now for the second one." spoke Pat, clutching a second Great Ball, which was soon thrown at Vibrava.

As with Masquerain, Vibrava was vacuumed up in a red stream of light, the Great Ball falling to the ground and wiggling, its center circle flashing.

"Feraligatr, go grab it." said Pat, smirking. As his Water-type got to the blue-topped ball, it ceased moving. Feraligatr then tossed it back to Pat, who caught it with his palm.

"…" The teen's left eye twitched. "…OW. A little _easier _next time, please."

Targ let out a frustrated growl. "How could I have been beaten by a pair of BRATS?! I… I just had a bad day!"

Justin smirked, and wiggled his index finger tauntingly. "No johns."

The Cipher Peon frowned at the blond, then attempted to escape. But Pat certainly wasn't about to let that happen…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

May and Brendan had finished their battle at the same time Pat and Justin had, and were just beginning to walk over when Targ began to walk off, fists shaking from rage and embarrassment.

Pat smirked darkly, and dashed forward so that he was side-by-side with Feraligatr. "Feraligatr… Throw me towards him."

The Water-type gave Pat a skeptical look, but scooped his trainer up by the cape anyway. With a powerful toss, Pat flew toward Targ, easily catching up.

May, Brendan, and Justin all gained that infamous look "O.O" as Pat tackled headfirst into the large Cipher Peon, rolling forward into a wall, Targ's back serving as a cushion.

"You aren't gonna escape on _**me.**_" said Pat, grabbing Targ by the shoulders and lifting him backward. He then grabbed Targ in a chokehold position, holding a harsh grip on his wrists.

The Cipher Peon growled in pain, trying to bite Pat's fingers over his mouth, but failed to clamp down fast enough.

Before he blacked out, the last words Targ heard were: "You're too slow… _**Heh-heh-heh-heh…**_"

With that, the now-fainted Peon went limp. Pat dropped him, then motioned for Feraligatr to put him by Klots, pointing at the two Cipher members.

While the Water Element picked up Targ and carried him to Klots, Pat returned with the other three members of Team Pat.

Brendan grabbed their "leader" by his shoulders. "ARE YOU NUTS?!" he babbled. "YOU WENT ALL PG-13-RATED ACTION MOVIE ON HIS BUTT!"

Pat pushed the white-haired trainer off of him, and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, perhaps not PG-13… He only fainted. Now, uh, shall we?"

The four Trainers recalled their Pokemon. Pat then walked over to the switch, peering behind it. A red switch with a typical yellow and black hazard stripe around it sat on the ground.

**WARNING! This is the REAL emergency generator switch. DON'T PRESS unless there is a power outage, as using this when normal power is being supplied will cause a system overload, effectively frying every circuit and opening every electronically-locked door! DO NOT PRESS!**

"…Idiots." muttered Brendan as everyone read the large label beside the switch. Pat stepped on it, and a loud hum came from inside the very back of the Key Lair.

"This is gonna be fun." said Pat. With a small explosion, black smoke poured out from a large circular object in the back as the hum stopped. Lower-pitched mechanical hums also reached their ears, being the opening of two doors on the roof.

Stylishly, Pat did a back flip over the rail, landing… Squarely on his head. May, Brendan, and Justin looked over the rail, seeing a rather cartoony-looking, twitching Pat.

"…Ow." he mumbled, before standing and rubbing his head. The other three dashed down the stairs, finding Pat in front of an open, before unnoticed doorway.

"Wait a minute!" called out May. "We, um, need to distribute the Shadow Pokemon, don't we?"

Pat nodded. "Indeed… I'll let you three have at them."

Brendan grinned. "In that case, I'll take Medicham." He held out the Great Ball containing Pupitar. "Anyone want Pupitar?"

Justin took the Great Ball. "I do. If it's alright, I'll keep him and Vibrava… I'll nickname them Sandstorm and Draco. That leaves Masquerain to you, May."

The brown-haired girl smiled. "Okay!" She picked up Masquerain's Great Ball and put it inside one of her pouches.

Pat leaned on the wall. "Now that we're done with this overly-happy scene…"

He shot a look inside a large, spacious, square room. A red carpet was sprawled out behind the doorway, leading to a large desk. Behind it sat a short, gorilla-esque, very muscular man, with black hair, wearing a red and black muscle shirt, a pair of yellow goggles with thick blue lenses connected to a silver headset, red pants with black stripes on the outer sides, black, blue, and yellow gloves, a brown utility belt with a very large wrench inside a strap, and gray army boots.

The man pounded his left fist on the desk. "Blast it! I figured you wouldn't find that generator switch… And now you've completely fried the circuits and killed the generators! You brats are gonna _**PAY…**_" he growled.

"…You must be Gorilla, right?" muttered Pat.

"MY NAME IS GORIGAN! NOT GORILLA!" roared the man. "I'm one of Cipher's top Admins, and you are not gonna get out of here alive!"

Gorigan hopped over the desk, landing with a loud thud. He then drew two Poke Balls from his belt, and tossed them into the air.

"Alright, Lairon and Fearow! Help me out here!"

From the first Poke Ball's burst of light appeared Lairon, a Rock/Steel dual-type Pokemon with the appearance of a dinosaur-esque quadruped. It had a silver back and top half of its head, and black lower body. Its back was also segmented into four rounded triangles, each having black dots on them, and its tail was made of smaller ones.

Beside it appeared Fearow, a Normal/Flying Pokemon with an orange-brown bird body. It had a long, reddish beak and a tri-pointed red crest on its head, and its wing feathers were brown and cream. Its legs were brown and chicken-like.

"Well, _**how**_ can we resist a challenge like this?" spat Justin sarcastically. He and Pat stood side-by-side, tossing their own Poke Balls into the air, one each. Tauros and Draco, Vibrava, appeared.

Gorigan smirked. "All right. Show me your moves!"

Justin and Pat exchanged "O.O" looks, before Pat retorted with:

"We would, but you're too slow!"

"Prepare yourself." spoke Justin, sweeping his hand behind him as if he was holding something, like a sword.

"You'll get no sympathy from me!" roared Gorigan.

"…I fight for my fr…" Justin was interrupted by Pat slamming his fist into Justin's head.

"ANYTHING but that line… I will… Er, we will be the ones to take you down!" shouted Pat, pointing at Gorigan.

Justin did three sideways kicks, while saying, "What's the matter, scared?"

May and Brendan sweat-dropped. "Will you two get on with it…?" mumbled the latter.

Justin nodded. "Yes. Let's-a go!"

There was a rather awkward silence for the next minute, Pat breaking it.

"…Okay, let's knock off the video game quotes."

PM: XD, XD, XD. I love doing that. XP

So um, I hope some of the reviewers can guess where those quotes come from? If you can't, I pity you. :P


End file.
